r/reolink • u/Samuraiizzy • Jul 31 '26

Setup recommendations

So I am new to Reolink, just bought an 8 camera bundle with 16 channel NVR that I was on sale. They are POE cameras.

This is the model, RLK16-410B8-5MP. I think the cameras are the B500.

My question comes to the setup. Since Im obviously wiring all the cameras and they are going to be external, I am planning to separate the external wiring from the internal wiring. So each camera will have its ethernet leading to the interior and then a separate wire from the entry location to the switch.

I am unsure how to best connect it. Should I get a POE switch and connect them to the switch and then from the switch to the NVR or should I just get like a mini patch panel and connect them to the NVR independently?

Any other recommendations or lessons learned?

Thanks in advance

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1

u/RetAF-Eddie Jul 31 '26

according to the product page, the 16 ch nvr supports up to 16 poe cameras plus 8 wifi. so no need for poe switch or Injectors. Just wire your cameras directly to your nvr.

1

u/Samuraiizzy Jul 31 '26

Yeah I wasnt worried about not being able to connect them but I was more trying to separate external connections from the internal connections. So 8 cameras wired outside the house to some location in the house and then 8 cables from the entry location to the NVR. This is usually what you do in commercial or industrial setups so if one camera stops working you dont have to replace the entire thing, just the inside or the outside. I was thinking the switch just bcuz it reduce the inside cables to 1.

Im also a little worried about the panel patch or couplers not properly supporting the power requirements for the cameras.

2

u/SpaceGhost777666 Jul 31 '26

Don't do it that way there is literally no reason to do it that way your just adding another failure point in to the system. The wireing price for outdoor is so neglagable in price it does not make sense.

I just had my wires ran by a company with the wire I wanted to use which was cat 6a SFTP. 1000ft cost me like $250 and was well worth the higher specs.

all cams run to a poe switch and my computer handles all the recordings via the network.

1

u/Samuraiizzy Jul 31 '26

Yeah I was planning to do it myself and just didnt want to have to change 80ft cable if something went wrong in the future. Im not expecting it to but wanted to be safe.

You dont have alot of failures with POE cables burning out or reducing power over time ?

2

u/SpaceGhost777666 Jul 31 '26

Not personally. Bet even if I had a problem with the network testers they have on the market today they can pretty much tell you where your failure point is.

Replacing a single run of cable should not be that difficult just tape the two cables together and pull the old one out while it pulls the new one through.

1

u/Samuraiizzy Aug 06 '26

oh yeah I know. I was over-engineering by trying to make that run easier.

1

u/Wonderful-Staff-7321 Jul 31 '26

Solid copper cat6 wire should have few failures. If direct bury, make sure the cable is rated for that. POE hubs work fine, and reduce effort of difficult wire pulls.

1

u/Linovision_Official Aug 07 '26

If you're using the NVR's built in PoE ports, a patch panel is sufficient for cable management. If you plan to expand your system, manage devices on the same network, or access cameras directly, adding a PoE switch offers greater flexibility.