Question 1

How many switch ports do I need?

Accepted Answer

Count every wired device that will plug in today: desk PCs, IP phones, access points, cameras, printers, the NVR and the uplink to your router. Then add 20 to 30 percent spare for growth. A phone with two Ethernet ports, such as the Yealink SIP-T31G or SIP-T33G, can pass the desk PC through it, so one cable run serves both. Typical sizes: 8 ports for a small room (TP-Link SG2210MP, 8 PoE+ ports, 55 KD), 24 ports for an office floor (Cisco CBS350-24P-4G, 125 KD) and 48 ports for a larger floor (Grandstream GWN7816, 48 PoE+ ports, 195 KD). Past 48 ports, add a second switch and link the two over their SFP+ uplinks.

Question 2

How do I work out the PoE budget I need?

Accepted Answer

Add up the maximum power of every device the switch will power, then add about 25 percent headroom. Take each figure from the device datasheet. From our catalogue: the UniFi U6 Pro access point draws up to 13 W, the UniFi G4 Dome camera up to 5 W, and the Yealink SIP-T31G phone is 802.3af Class 1, which the IEEE standard limits to 4 W at the switch port. An office with 4 U6 Pro APs, 12 T31G phones and 4 G4 Dome cameras needs 52 + 48 + 20 = 120 W, or about 150 W with headroom. That fits a 24-port PoE+ switch with a 195 W budget, such as the Aruba Instant On 1930 24G PoE 4SFP+ (115 KD) or the Cisco CBS350-24P-4G (125 KD). Check power per port as well: PoE (802.3af) supplies up to 15.4 W per port and PoE+ (802.3at) up to 30 W. Watch for small totals. The UniFi Switch Lite 16 PoE has 8 PoE+ ports but only 45 W in total.

Question 3

Managed, smart or unmanaged: which switch do I need?

Accepted Answer

An unmanaged switch has no settings. It suits a few PCs on one network, but it cannot keep phones, cameras and guest Wi-Fi apart. A smart switch adds VLANs, basic QoS and port monitoring through a web page. Examples are the Cisco CBS250-48T-4G (95 KD) and the MikroTik CSS326-24G-2S+ running SwOS (85 KD). A fully managed switch adds a command line, SNMP monitoring and security features such as 802.1X, ACLs and DHCP snooping. The Cisco CBS350 series (web UI, CLI and SNMP) is a common choice. Any office with IP phones or CCTV should use at least a smart switch, so voice and cameras can run on their own VLANs.

Question 4

Do I need 1G, 2.5G or 10G SFP+ uplinks?

Accepted Answer

The uplink carries traffic between the switch and your router, server room or other switches. 1G SFP uplinks are enough for a small site; the TP-Link SG2428P (95 KD) has four. Choose 10G SFP+ uplinks when several switches share one link to the server room, or when you run 10G servers or NAS. Low-cost options are the Aruba Instant On 1930 24G 4SFP+ (75 KD) and the Grandstream GWN7811 (85 KD, 8 PoE+ ports and 2 x 10G SFP+). To join many 10G links in one place, use the MikroTik CRS309-1G-8S+IN (8 x SFP+, 78 KD) or CRS317-1G-16S+RM (16 x SFP+, 595 KD). 2.5G access ports matter for access points with a 2.5G port, such as the UniFi U6 Enterprise. The UniFi Switch Enterprise 24 PoE (549 KD) has 24 x 2.5G PoE+ ports. For 10G over copper cable, the MikroTik CRS312-4C+8XG-RM (295 KD) has 8 x 10G RJ45 ports.

Question 5

Should I buy a rack-mount or a desktop switch?

Accepted Answer

If you have a network cabinet, buy 1U rack-mount switches. They fit a standard 19-inch rack next to the patch panel and keep cabling tidy. Most 24- and 48-port models are rack-mount, for example the Grandstream GWN7803 (55 KD) and the MikroTik CRS328-24P-4S+RM (500 W PoE budget, 195 KD). Desktop switches suit a meeting room, reception desk or small shop with no cabinet. Examples are the UniFi Switch Flex Mini (5 ports, 15 KD) and the fanless Aruba Instant On 1830 8G PoE 65W (35 KD). Fanless models are silent, which matters where people sit near the switch. For panels and outdoor cabinets, the Teltonika TSW200 mounts on a DIN rail and is rated for -40 to 75 °C (available on enquiry).

Question 6

Cloud-managed or locally managed: which is better?

Accepted Answer

Cloud-managed switches are set up and monitored from an app or web portal. This helps if you run several sites or have no IT staff on site. Each system works best with its own access points and gateways: Ubiquiti UniFi uses the UniFi Network application, TP-Link uses Omada SDN, Aruba Instant On uses the Instant On app and cloud portal, Ruijie uses Ruijie Cloud (for example the RG-NBS3200-24GT4XS-P, 370 W PoE, 155 KD) and Grandstream uses GWN.Cloud. Local management means you log in to each switch through its web page or command line, as with the Cisco CBS350 series and MikroTik RouterOS or SwOS. Local management suits sites with their own network admin or a policy against cloud tools. Some models do both. The TP-Link SG2428P runs under Omada or on its own web UI, and Grandstream GWN switches have a local web UI as well as GWN.Cloud.

Question 7

Layer 2 or Layer 3 switch: which do I need?

Accepted Answer

A Layer 2 switch forwards traffic inside each VLAN. A Layer 3 switch can also route between VLANs, so the staff, phone and camera networks can reach each other without every packet passing through the router. Most offices are fine with Layer 2 switches on each floor and routing done on the firewall. Choose Layer 3 for the core switch in a larger building. In our range, the Grandstream GWN7811 and GWN7830 and the MikroTik CRS309 and CRS317 (running RouterOS) are Layer 3.

Question 8

Do switches come with SFP modules?

Accepted Answer

No. Transceivers and fibre patch cords are sold separately. We stock the MikroTik S+85DLC03D 10G multimode module (up to 300 m, 18 KD), the MikroTik S+RJ10 10G copper module (35 KD), the Cisco GLC-SX-MMD 1G multimode module (32 KD) and 3 m LC-LC OM3 patch cords (6.50 KD). Some switch brands only accept their own coded modules, so tell us your switch model and we will confirm a matching module before you order.

Question 9

How fast is switch delivery in Kuwait?

Accepted Answer

Orders confirmed before 4 PM on a business day (Sunday to Thursday) dispatch the same day. Delivery is free on orders of 150 KWD or more, otherwise 2 KWD. Items marked Call for Enquiry, such as the Teltonika TSW110 and TSW200, need a quote before you order.

Network Switches in KuwaitPoE, managed and 10G.