Altronix NETWAYSP8WPX37 8-Port PoE+ Hardened Switch with Battery Backup Enclosure
Overview
The Altronix NETWAYSP8WPX37 is a purpose-built, outdoor-rated PoE+ switch housed in a NEMA 4/4X, IP66-rated enclosure with integrated 360W power budget and battery backup capacity — engineered for surveillance deployments where a standard rack-mount switch simply isn't an option. This unit ships ready to power up to eight 802.3at/af cameras, access control readers, or wireless APs from a single hardened cabinet mounted at the edge of your network, eliminating the need to run conduit back to an IDF closet. The NETWAYSP8WPX37 is the right tool when you need to push PoE power and fiber uplink to a remote location — a parking structure, a gate house, a loading dock — while keeping the entire switching stack weather-protected and battery-backed at the point of use.
Altronix built this unit around the practical realities of field installation: the enclosure handles everything from blowing dust to direct rain, the operating temperature window stretches from -30°C to 70°C, and the integrated battery bay accepts four 12VDC/4AH sealed lead-acid or gel cells, giving you a meaningful UPS cushion at the edge without a separate power conditioner. If you're sizing network infrastructure for a campus-wide or multi-building security system, the NETWAYSP8WPX37 belongs in your distribution topology wherever you'd otherwise be running an unprotected unmanaged switch in a weatherproof box.
Key Features
- 360W Total PoE Budget across 8 ports: With 360W available across eight ports, you can run a full complement of PTZ cameras, multi-sensor panoramic units, or PoE-powered intercoms without throttling any device. Two ports support up to 60W, letting you power high-draw PTZ heads or PoE++ devices that exceed the 30W 802.3at ceiling — a spec that matters when you start mixing standard IP domes with higher-wattage pan-tilt units on the same switch.
- 802.3at/af Dual-Standard PoE: Both 802.3at (PoE+, up to 30W per port) and 802.3af (PoE, up to 15.4W per port) are supported, so every camera or reader negotiates the correct power class automatically. No manual DIP-switch overrides, no mismatched injectors — the switch handles class negotiation on its own.
- 2x Gigabit SFP Uplink Ports: The two fiber SFP uplink ports run at 10/100/1000 Mbps, giving you a distance-unlimited path back to the core switch or NVR over single-mode or multimode fiber. This is the spec that makes the NETWAYSP8WPX37 viable on large campuses where copper runs from the edge cabinet to the building MDF would exceed the 100-meter Ethernet limit.
- 6x 10/100 Mbps + 2x 10/100/1000 Mbps Access Ports: The eight access-side PoE ports break down as six Fast Ethernet and two Gigabit. The two Gigabit access ports are worth assigning to bandwidth-heavy devices — 4K cameras, multi-imager units, or network video recorders feeding from the edge.
- NEMA 4/4X, IP66-Rated Enclosure: NEMA 4X adds corrosion resistance on top of the rain-and-dust protection of standard NEMA 4, making this unit appropriate for coastal installations, chemical storage areas, and food-processing environments where moisture isn't just rain. IP66 independently confirms the housing resists high-pressure water jets — relevant for installations near vehicle wash stations or exterior hose-down areas.
- -30°C to 70°C Operating Temperature: This range covers unheated enclosures in northern climates (sub-zero winters) and rooftop installations in hot sun (surface temperatures well above ambient air). Most commercial-grade switches are rated to 0°C at the floor and 50°C at the ceiling — this unit's extra headroom on both ends is specifically what justifies outdoor or non-climate-controlled deployment.
- Integrated Battery Backup — Four 12VDC/4AH Cells: Four sealed lead-acid or gel-type batteries in a 48V backup configuration keep all eight PoE ports live through brief power interruptions. For a security camera installation, this means edge cameras keep recording during a grid outage — not just coasting to black. Battery type flexibility (SLA or gel) lets you choose chemistry based on expected temperature range and maintenance access.
- Compact Field Cabinet — 17.53" x 15.3" x 6.67": At 15 lbs, the NETWAYSP8WPX37 is one person-carry. The cabinet footprint fits on a standard exterior wall between studs or on a pole mount, and the depth of 6.67" keeps it from protruding into pedestrian paths. Size and weight together make it practical to stage, transport, and mount as a complete unit.
Integration and Compatibility
The NETWAYSP8WPX37 integrates directly into any standard 802.3at/af IP surveillance ecosystem. Cameras from any vendor that pulls PoE — Axis, Hanwha, Hikvision, Dahua, Vivotek, i-PRO — connect to the access ports without any special configuration. The SFP uplinks accept standard LC-connector SFP modules (single-mode or multimode) matched to your fiber plant. For enterprise deployments, you can drop this unit anywhere in the edge layer of a tiered managed switch architecture and trunk back to your core over fiber. It does not require proprietary management software — standard SNMP or local CLI access applies. Plan battery replacement at intervals consistent with the SLA/gel chemistry you choose and the ambient temperature at the installation site; elevated sustained temperatures shorten cycle life on sealed lead-acid cells.
This unit is the right building block for distributed camera deployments using centralized power planning at each edge node. A single NETWAYSP8WPX37 covers a typical eight-camera cluster — a parking lot zone, a perimeter fence segment, a loading dock — with fiber backhaul to the NVR or VMS server rack. Pair it with appropriate SFP modules and a grounded exterior-rated conduit run for a code-compliant edge installation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How many ports on the NETWAYSP8WPX37 support 60W high-power PoE?
A: Two of the eight PoE ports support up to 60W per port. The remaining six ports deliver up to 30W each under 802.3at (PoE+). Total power budget across all eight ports is 360W.
Q: What enclosure rating does the NETWAYSP8WPX37 carry, and does it work in direct outdoor exposure?
A: The enclosure is rated NEMA 4/4X and IP66-11. NEMA 4X adds corrosion resistance for coastal or chemical-exposure environments; IP66 confirms protection against high-pressure water jets. It is designed for direct outdoor mounting without additional enclosure protection.
Q: What type of batteries does the NETWAYSP8WPX37 require, and what is the backup configuration?
A: The unit accepts four 12VDC/4AH sealed lead-acid or gel-type batteries wired in a 48V backup configuration. Batteries are not included and must be sourced separately. Either SLA or gel chemistry is supported.
Q: What fiber SFP uplink options does the NETWAYSP8WPX37 support?
A: There are two SFP uplink ports running at 10/100/1000 Mbps (Gigabit). These accept standard SFP modules — single-mode or multimode — depending on your fiber plant and distance requirements. SFP modules are not included and must be sourced separately.
Q: What is the operating temperature range of the NETWAYSP8WPX37?
A: The unit is rated for -30°C to 70°C operating temperature, making it suitable for unheated outdoor enclosures in cold climates and rooftop installations subject to high ambient heat.
Q: Can the NETWAYSP8WPX37 power cameras from any manufacturer, or is it limited to Altronix-branded devices?
A: The unit is vendor-agnostic. Any 802.3at or 802.3af compliant IP camera, access control reader, or wireless AP will negotiate power class automatically. No proprietary configuration is required.
The NETWAYSP8WPX37 is the unit I reach for when a project calls for a self-contained edge switching node — specifically when the alternative is running conduit back to a protected IDF room that either doesn't exist or adds more cost than the hardware itself. The 360W total power budget across eight ports, with two of those ports capable of 60W each, means you can mix standard PoE+ cameras with high-draw PTZ heads in the same cabinet without load-shedding.
Technical Highlights:
- 360W / 60W dual-high ports: Most 8-port edge switches cap at 30W per port and 120–150W total. The NETWAYSP8WPX37's 360W aggregate with two 60W ports lets you run a full PTZ or a multi-sensor panoramic head on those two ports without starving the other six — a real constraint on typical PoE budgets in multi-device clusters.
- NEMA 4X + IP66 dual-rated enclosure: NEMA 4X is the corrosion-resistance standard that most outdoor switches skip — they'll take rain (NEMA 3R) but not salt air or chemical washdown. If your install site is coastal, near a pool facility, or in a food-service or industrial wash-down zone, that 4X rating is the one to confirm.
- -30°C to 70°C operating range: A 100-degree operating window is unusual for switching hardware at this price tier. It specifically addresses the failure mode of unheated parking garage or rooftop edge cabinets in winter — environments where a 0°C-floor switch becomes unreliable within the first season.
Deployment Considerations:
- Budget for four 12VDC/4AH batteries separately — they are not included. For cold-climate installs, gel cells maintain capacity better than standard SLA at sustained low temperatures, which matters for a battery bank sitting in an unheated exterior cabinet all winter.
- The two 10/100/1000 Mbps access ports (vs. six 10/100 ports) should be assigned deliberately — put your highest-bitrate devices (4K cameras, edge recorders) on those two Gigabit ports; the six Fast Ethernet ports top out at 100 Mbps, which is adequate for most 2–5MP cameras but will bottleneck a high-bitrate 4K stream under continuous recording.
This unit is purpose-matched for perimeter security at industrial facilities, campuses, and transportation hubs where eight-camera clusters need to be locally powered, battery-backed, and fiber-trunked back to a central head-end — without a weatherproof IDF room at every pole.
