MikroTik CSS610

May 26, 2023

About a year and a half ago, we looked at the ultra-low-cost MikroTik CSS610-8G-2S+IN 8x1GbE 2x10GbE for under $100. Now, MikroTik has a new version the MikroTik CSS610-8P-2S+IN. The Model numbers changing from 8G to 8P is the key to the difference with this model as it adds PoE support.

Taking a look at the switch, we get a familiar port configuration. There are 8x 1GbE RJ45 ports for devices. For higher-speed devices and uplinks, we have two 10GbE SFP+ ports.

The switch has both an AC input (rear) and a DC input (front) for redundant power supplies and a solid power budget. The switch is rated at 12W of power at idle but has a 140W power budget to distribute among the eight ports. The switch supports IEEE 802.3af/at so per the PoE vs PoE+ vs PoE++ guide, that means it supports PoE and PoE+ devices, but not PoE++. We will quickly note that this is a CSS switch not a CRS switch so it does not have the routing features of MikroTik’s higher-end line.

The list price on this model is $229. Pre-pandemic, the MikroTik list price was usually a good amount higher than the street price. That has changed quite a bit. Still, $229 is a significant premium over the non-PoE version at around $100. Another aspect that has changed is that the market is moving towards 2.5GbE. While the 1GbE market is much larger, we wish that MikroTik started pushing seriously into the 2.5GbE market. 1GbE is under threat from WiFi 6E and within the lifetime of these switches, WiFi 7 that is coming. Once Ethernet ceases to provide backhaul bandwidth for WiFi APs, that becomes a challenge for PoE switches. We can hope at least, especially with low-cost 2.5GbE hitting pricing parity with 1GbE in the PoE segment.