Huawei eKit S310 Switch Review: The Best PoE Switch for UAE SMEs?

The Huawei eKit S310 is the switch that sits in more UAE hotel server rooms and office network cabinets than any other eKit model. It hits the sweet spot for SME deployments: 24 or 48 Gigabit PoE+ ports, 30W per port (enough for any WiFi 6 AP or IP camera), 10G SFP+ uplinks for fibre backbone connections, and full Layer 2 management with VLANs, QoS, and STP — all manageable through the eKit app. For UAE businesses deploying 10–100 network devices, the S310 is typically the right answer.

S310 Specifications

PoE Budget in Practice

The S310-24P has a 370W PoE budget across all 24 ports. Real-world consumption for typical UAE network devices:

• Huawei eKit AP371 (WiFi 6 ceiling AP): ~14W per AP — the S310-24P can power all 24 ports simultaneously
• Huawei eKit AP362E (wall-plate AP with PoE passthrough to IP phone): ~15.4W per AP (AP itself ~8W, phone up to 7.4W)
• Standard IP camera (1080p): 7–12W per camera
• IP phone (basic): 4–7W per phone
• PTZ camera or outdoor AP: 25–30W — check individual device specs

A hotel floor with 20 AP362E wall-plate APs each powering an IP phone draws roughly 20 × 15.4W = 308W, which is within the 370W budget. Add 6 IP cameras at 10W each (60W) and you are at 368W — right at the limit. The S310-24P fits perfectly for this scenario. The 48-port model doubles the budget to 740W for larger floors.

Managed Features: VLANs and QoS

VLAN Configuration

The S310 supports full 802.1Q VLAN tagging. For a UAE hotel deployment, typical VLAN setup on an S310 might be: VLAN 10 (guest WiFi), VLAN 20 (staff WiFi and wired PCs), VLAN 30 (CCTV cameras), VLAN 40 (IPTV), VLAN 50 (POS systems). Each VLAN has separate routing rules at the gateway — guest traffic routes to the internet through a captive portal; CCTV traffic routes only to the NVR on VLAN 30.

QoS for VoIP

Quality of Service on the S310 allows you to mark and prioritise traffic types. For UAE offices with VoIP phone systems, configure 802.1p priority tagging: VoIP traffic (DSCP EF, PHB priority 5) gets forwarded ahead of background data traffic. The result is clear voice calls even when a staff member is running a large file download on the same switch.

Who Is the S310 For?

• Hotels: floor distribution switch for AP362E wall-plate APs and IP cameras — one S310-24P or 48P per floor
• UAE offices (20–100 users): access-layer switch for workstations, APs, and VoIP phones
• Schools: classroom AP distribution, segregation of student and staff VLANs
• Clinics and medical facilities: separate VLAN for medical equipment, staff, and guest WiFi
• Retail chains: branch switch for POS, CCTV, staff WiFi, and guest WiFi — all on one switch

UAE Pricing and Availability

The Huawei eKit S310-24P is available in the UAE in the range of AED 1,800–2,800 from authorised distributors. The S310-48P runs AED 2,800–4,200. These represent very competitive pricing versus equivalent Cisco Catalyst or Netgear Insight managed switches with comparable PoE budgets and SFP+ uplinks.

Netbiz Technology LLC maintains stock of the S310 series in Ras Al Khaimah and can deliver anywhere in the UAE. We supply both standard and extended warranty options and offer installation services.