WatchGuard Smart PoE Gig-E Switch (SPS)

Purpose-built for patrol-car networks, the Smart PoE Gig-E Switch ties every 4RE/M500 camera, Vista Wi-Fi base and Mobile-Data Computer into one auto-managed Gigabit LAN while sourcing IEEE 802.3af PoE from the cruiser’s 12-V power lead. A hardened MCU monitors draw on each port, powers devices only when they’re recording, uploading or charging, then shuts itself down to protect the battery once the job is done—no more dead cruisers on Monday morning. The switch can even stand in as a DHCP server when the MDC is offline, so every IP-camera comes up with the right address and streaming never hiccups.

Housed in a vibration-proof, alloy shell roughly the size of a deck of cards, the SPS offers three Gig-E RJ-45 ports (two PoE device ports + one uplink to the DVR) and status LEDs you can read at a glance in low light. Install is “plug, crimp, forget”: ring-lug the 12 V/ground pigtail, snap the shielded Cat-6 leads, and the 4RE or M500 automatically discovers the switch and logs it in Evidence Library. Designed, tested and qualified for –22 °F to 185 °F dash heat, the unit weighs under half a pound and ships with Velcro plus screw flanges for whatever mounting surface the up-fitter prefers. In short, it’s the brains and lungs of the in-car video network—smart enough to save the battery, tough enough to ride shotgun for a decade.