Power over Ethernet Technology & PoE Switch Explained
Wireless network makes a better connected world. PoE (Power over Ethernet) technology revolutionizes the wireless network by providing data and electricity over the same Ethernet cable. It is considered to be the most common method to build enterprise wireless network.
categories So how to build PoE technology over wireless network? Why would you choose PoE switch over PoE injector? And how to choose, select & buy best PoE switch for IP cameras? Today, we share some insights and help solve the above questions.
PoE or power over Ethernet was defined by IEEE802.3af in 2003. It is a revolutionary technology that integrates data and power on the same cables, allowing power devices (PDs) to receive power in parallel to data over existing twisted-pair Ethernet infrastructure without making any modifications in it. Typical PDs include IP cameras, wireless access points, and the power sourcing equipment (PSE) would normally be a PoE switch or a midspan power PoE injector, patched in to add PoE capability to a non-PoE network switch channel or similar. There are three types of PoE networking architectures based on different PSE:PoE switch is a network switch that has Power over Ethernet injection built-in. When connecting with other devices, it can detect whether they are PoE-compatible and supply power automatically for the remote-powered devices. With the plug-and-play design, customers can easily connect PoE-enabled devices using standard Cat5e or Ethernet cables without additional hardware.
As figure 1 shows, PoE Gigabit switch certificated by IEEE 802.3af standard, sends power and data to PoE devices over a single cable, which requires no additional wiring, power sources, or adapters. POE switches are available to suit all applications from low-cost unmanaged edge switches with a few ports, up to complex multi-port rack-mounted units with sophisticated management.
A midspan (or PoE injector) is used to add POE capability to regular non-POE network links seen in Figure 2. Midspans can be used to upgrade existing LAN installations to POE, and provide a versatile solution where fewer PoE ports are required. Upgrading each network connection to POE technology is as simple as patching it through the midspan, and as with POE switches, power injection is controlled and automatic. PoE injectors are available as single-port or multiport device, or the injector can be built into a network switch, which is called a PoE switch.A basic PoE-based system usually consists of three main components: PSE, e.g. a PoE switch or PoE injector, network Ethernet cable and remote-powered devices, which could be an IP camera, IP access panel, IP intercom, VoIP or wireless access point (WAP). The following video helps deploy a PoE-based network.
