Fanless PoE Switch vs PoE Switch with Fans, What’s the Difference?
Discussions on switch noise have aroused hot debate in many forums. How to solve the problem of too much noise when the switch is working? Can I remove the fan to lower the noise? All you need maybe a fanless switch. Then someone wondered will overheating issues occur if there are no fans. Questions like these are quite common. This article will focus on the Power over Ethernet switches (PoE switches), explaining fanless PoE switch vs fan PoE switch to highlight their differences and introduce QSFPTEK product portfolios of PoE switches and fanless switches.
What is Fanless PoE Switch?
PoE switches that are designed with no fans in the chassis are fanless PoE switches. Regular enterprise-grade switches usually are equipped with built-in fixed fans or detachable fans to dissipate heat for keeping the operating temperature within the safe range. However, fanless switches feature a green-energy power-efficient design that allows them to operate within normal temperatures without a fan. Another key benefit of the fanless switch is noise-free since there are no vibrations from fans.
Therefore fanless PoE switches are widely deployed to power end devices in noise-sensitive environments such as offices, homes, hospitals, hotels, libraries, labs, etc. In the market, fanless PoE switches are commonly seen in small desktop PoE switches that have ports no more than 16 ports. Managed and unmanaged are all available.
What is PoE Switch with Fans?
In contrast, a fan-based PoE switch contains a fan or multiple fans to ensure optimal cooling. The fan expels heat from inside the switch and releases it into the air, which enhances the speed and efficiency of heat dissipation. This cooling method contributes to prolonging the switch's lifespan. PoE switches with 24 ports or more commonly feature fans to prevent overheating when fully loaded with devices, which generate a lot of heat. Fans help to dissipate heat and keep the operating temperature safe, ensuring devices run smoothly without interruption or damage.
Fan switches are commonly implemented in network environments where heat dissipation is crucial, such as data centers and server rooms where switches are densely installed on the rack.
Fanless Switch vs Switch with Fans, What’s the Difference?
Noise
Fanless PoE switches feature a 0db noise value while PoE switches with fans are more or less noisy. One parameter that switches users' concerns is noise value. The noise mainly comes from the operation of the fan when the switch is running. A high noise value means high decibel noise, which can be bothersome, especially in scenarios that have high requirements for quietness.
Cooling Systems
Switches with built-in fans rely on the active cooling system for forced convection while fanless switches adopt the passive cooling system for natural convection. Natural convection is typically realized by cooling vents on the left and right sides of the device or heat sinks. Compared with natural convection, fan rotation can maintain and speed up the airflow to dissipate heat more efficiently.
To learn more about the two cooling systems, please refer to Quiet Switch: S5300 Series Fanless Switches
Power Consumption
Fanless PoE switch with natural convection does not consume energy for cooling. However, forced convection relies on the operation of an active built-in fan in the switch, which, of course, requires a continuous energy supply. Therefore fanless PoE switches usually feature lower power consumption and cost-effectiveness.
Reliability
When switches are built-in fans, potential failure risks are also added. in case of fans fail, the switches reliability is break on and should be repaired for fan replacement. However, the silent PoE switch will save a potential failure point.
Application Scenarios
PoE switches with fanless design are ideal for noise-sensitive environments such as offices, libraries, schools, hotels, homes, etc. In these places, PoE switches are found as desktop switches or placed in the office corner. People usually work beside them, the noise will bothersome.
PoE switches with built-in fans cater to heat dissipation network scenarios such as mission-critical data centers. In such server rooms, numerous running switches and other active devices are mounted in the rack space, which will release a lot of heat in the air and cause the environment's temperature to overheat. Fans help cool down the overheating components in the switch and speed the convection.
QSFPTEK PoE Switches and Fanless Switches Option
QSFPTEK launched five models of PoE switches with IEEE802.3af and IEEE802.3at compliant, delivering up to 15.4W PoE or 30W PoE+ power. PoE switches can transfer data and power over a single Ethernet cable, you can save the trouble of connecting your end devices to extra power source equipment, enabling flexible installation of power to your endpoints.
QT also introduced fanless switches to meet your needs in noise-sensitive environments. These fanless switches are designed with no fans but adequate vents, ensuring quiet operation, low power consumption cost-effectiveness, and high-level natural convection heat dissipation. There are six models for option: some are non-PoE and some are PoE.
If a fanless PoE switch is your choice, please quote for S5300-8P2S fanless 8-port PoE switch.
QSFPTEK Fanless PoE+ Switch
S5300-8P2S is an 8-port fanless PoE+ switch. It has 8x 10/100/1000BASE-T RJ45 ports with 2x 1G SFP ports, enabling flexible and direct copper and optical connections. With a 130W power budget, it can power up to 8x IEEE802.3af standard PoE devices (15.4W per port) or 4x IEEE802.3at standard PoE+ devices (30W per port). The powered device option is shown in the table below.
QSFPTEK PoE+ Switch with Fans
S5300-24P4TS has 24x 10/100/1000BASE-T RJ45 ports with 4x 1G RJ45/SFP combo ports, the 4 combo ports can be used as either four RJ45 ports or four SFP ports. S5300-24P4X is designed with 24x 10/100/1000BASE-T RJ45 ports with 4x 10G SFP+ uplink ports. The major difference between the two built-in fan switches is:
• The uplinks ports of S5300-24P4TS are 1G, S5300-24P4X is 10G SFP+
• S5300-24P4TS is not stackable whereas S5300-24P4X support stacking up to 2 devices to virtualize as a single unit
• S5300-24P4TS has three fans while S5300-24P4X has two fans.
S5300-24P4TS and S5300-24P4X have a max 370W power budget. Each of them can power up to 24x IEEE802.3af standard PoE devices (15.4W per port) or 12x IEEE802.3at standard PoE+ devices (30W per port).
QSFPTEK PoE Switch Lists
QSFPTEK Fanless Switch Lists
Fanless 8 port switches, fanless 16 port switches and fanless 24 port switches with 1G ports or 10G uplinks are all available.
The whole option of PoE switches and fanless switches are shown in the tables above. If you need a quotation, please contact us via [email protected] or leave a message in the live chat box. The rep will provide you with the best offer and solution for your project.
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