The Davuaz Da-K9801WP is very similar in name to its non-PoE variant, but it is very different. This is another 8-port 2.5GbE and single SFP+ 10GbE port variant, with a twist. Instead of being a small chassis, this uses a 1U sized-chassis to hold a larger internal power supply for PoE functionality.
If you just want to check current pricing, we purchased this at Amazon. Here is an affiliate link to the one we purchased.
Davuaz Da-K9801WP Overview
We first covered this switch in our 2024 Mega round-up which you can find here:
We have also added this switch to the Ultimate Cheap Fanless 2.5GbE Switch Buyer’s Guide where we have now listed 40+ models. Bookmark that page to get the latest. We will like all of these reviews from that page.
We are going to reference the Davuaz Da-K9801W 8-port 2.5GbE 1-port 10GbE non-PoE switch review a lot in this review. A big reason we are doing this is that folks asked us to review the PoE version.
Davuaz Da-K9801WP Hardware Overview
On the front of the switch, one can see eight 2.5GbE ports and a single SFP+ ports along with an interesting faceplate. This is blue and yellow whereas the non-PoE version is blue.
The eight 2.5GbE ports are PoE/ PoE+ (af/at) ports. Some may be looking for higher power PoE++ ports, but the power supply for this switch is not enough to power all ports at even PoE+ levels.
When compared quickly to the non-PoE Davuaz, the new version is significantly larger and has a different internal PCB based on the placement of the SFP+ port.
It is even deeper than the previous switch. Something else we found, albeit it is inconsistent in these switches, is that this came with rack ears that affix to the side of the chassis. We will note that usually these larger 1U switches had rack ears, but they did not always come with them. We even had a case where one unit we purchased had rack ears and the other did not. Still, we have a 1U chassis and holes, so if you really want to fashion your own, that is possible.
Here is the other side of the switch where there is a fan vent. This switch did not come with a fan, but the vent is here. We saw this chassis being used on two switches in our 2024 Mega round-up, but neither had a fan.
The rear has an AC power input and a grounding point. The AC input is different since we usually get external power adapters, but this has an internal power supply.
On the bottom, we get a label. We also learn that the internal power supply is 120W. With <20W for the switch, we get a bit over 100W for the PoE budget.
Inside the switch, we can see the main switch board and the internal power supply.
We were a bit surprised that this is an entirely different switch PCB since many of the switches we have tried with non-PoE and PoE variants use the same board, then add PoE components. Here, the boards are very different as we can see looking also at the non-PoE version.
Here is a look at the internal power supply. This appears to be a very cost-optimized power supply rather than trying to be a nice power supply.
The switch appears to be using the RTL8373-CG and the RTL8224-CG switch chips like other 8+1 switch models. It is using a 10G uplink from the RTL8224-CG to the RTL8373-CG. Each has four 2.5GbE links downstream and the latter has a 10G SFP+ link as well.
Next, let us get to performance and power consumption.
I like seeing the rack mount possibilities for the larger chassis switches. Something like this is a strong contender if someone was deploying a small home network. At this price it could be more than worth it to run a single one of these switches for a few cameras and the internal network, Rather than a PoE and a higher speed switch.
Typo – missing word: “This is *yet* another..”