POWER OVER ETHERNET

'Power over Ethernet' or 'PoE' technology describes a system to transmit electrical power, along with data, to remote devices over standard twisted-pair cable in an Ethernet network. This technology is useful for powering IP telephones, wireless LAN access points, webcams, Ethernet hubs, embedded computers, and other appliances where it would be inconvenient, expensive (mains wiring must often be done by qualified and/or licensed electricians for legal or insurance reasons) or infeasible to supply power separately. The technology is somewhat comparable to POTS telephones, which also receive power and data (although analog) through the same cable. It works with an unmodified Ethernet cabling infrastructure.
There are several general terms used to describe this feature. The terms Power over Ethernet (PoE), Power over LAN (PoL), and Inline Power are synonymous terms used to describe the powering of attached devices via Ethernet ports.
There are several PoE implementations, including ad-hoc techniques, but supplying power over Ethernet according to the IEEE standard is strongly recommended.

Contents

IEEE 802.3—Power over Ethernet

Currently recommended (IEEE 802.3-2005)

Powering devices

Stages of powering up a PoE link

Power levels available

Under development extension (IEEE 802.3at)

Non-standard implementations

Cisco

3Com

Homebrew

Notes

Terminology

Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE)

Power Device (PD)

See also

References

External links

IEEE 802.3—Power over Ethernet

Currently recommended (IEEE 802.3-2005)

Clause 33 of IEEE 802.3-2005 (commonly referred to as 'IEEE 802.3af') provides 48 volts DC over two of the four available pairs on a Cat. 3/Cat. 5 cable with a maximum current of 400 mA for a maximum load power of 15.4 W. Only about 12.95 W are available after counting losses, and most switched power supplies will lose another 10-20% of the available energy. A "phantom power" technique is used so that the powered pairs may also carry data. This permits its use not only with 10BASE-T and 100BASE-TX, which use only two of the four pairs in the cable, but also with 1000BASE-T (Gigabit Ethernet), which uses all four pairs for data transmission. This is possible because all versions of Ethernet over twisted pair cable specify differential data transmission over each pair with transformer coupling; the DC supply and load connections can be made to the transformer center-taps at each end. Each pair thus operates in "common mode" as one side of the DC supply, so two pairs are required to complete the circuit. The polarity of the DC supply is unspecified; the powered device must operate with either polarity or pair 45+78 or 12+36 with the use of a bridge rectifier.
The standard describes two types of devices: Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE) and Powered Devices (PD). Power Sourcing Equipment provides power to the Powered Devices.

Powering devices

Two modes, A and B, are available. In mode A, pins 1-2 (pair #2 in T568B wiring) form one side of the 48 volt DC supply, and pins 3-6 (pair #3 in T568B) provide the 48 V return. These are the same two pairs used for data transmission in 10Base-T and 100BASE-TX, allowing the provision of both power and data over only two pairs in such networks.
In mode B, pins 4-5 (pair #1 in both T568A and T568B) form one side of the DC supply and pins 7-8 (pair 4 in T568A and T568B) provide the return; these are the "spare" pairs in 10BASE-T and 100BASE-TX. Mode B, therefore, requires a 4-pair cable.
The power sourcing equipment (PSE) decides whether power mode A or B is to be used, not the powered device (PD).
The PSE can implement mode A or B or both (but must not supply power in both modes at the same time). A PD indicates that it is standards-compliant by placing a 25 kiloohm resistor between the powered pairs. If the PSE detects a resistance that is too high or too low (including a short circuit), no power is applied. This protects devices that do not support IEEE 802.3af. An optional "power class" feature allows the PD to indicate its power requirements by changing the sense resistance at higher voltages. To stay powered, the PD must continuously use 5-10 mA for at least 60 ms with no less than 400 ms since last use or else it will be unpowered by the PSE.^[1]
There are two types of PSEs specified by IEEE802.3-2005: endspans and midspans. Endspans are Ethernet switches that include the Power over Ethernet transmission circuitry. Endspans are commonly called PoE switches. Midspans are power injectors that stand between a regular Ethernet switch and the powered device, injecting power without affecting the data.
Endspans are normally used when the switch has to be replaced for other reasons (such as moving from 10/100 to 1 gigabit or adding security protocols), and then it is convenient to add also the PoE capability. Midspans are used when there is no desire to replace and configure a new Ethernet switch, and only PoE needs to be added to the network.

Stages of powering up a PoE link

Stage	Action	Volts used
Detection	Measure whether powered device has the correct signature resistance of 15–33 kΩ	1.8–10.0
Classification	Measure which power level class the resistor indicates (see below)	12.5–25.0
Normal operation	Supply power to device	25.0–60.0

Power levels available

Class	Usage	Maximum Power Levels at Input of Powered Device (watts)
0	Default	0.44 to 12.95
1	Optional	0.44 to 3.84
2	Optional	3.84 to 6.49
3	Optional	6.49 to 12.95
4	Reserved

Under development extension (IEEE 802.3at)

A future standard, commonly referred to as PoE+, is being developed by the IEEE 802.3at task force, which officially began work in September 2005. The draft standard describes extending the IEEE Power over Ethernet by using all four pairs of standard Ethernet Category 5 cable to provide up to 56 watts of power. The higher power available with this future standard should make self-powered equipment with higher power requirements such as WiMAX transmitters, pan-tilt-zoom cameras, videophones and thin clients possible.
The 802.3at Task Force objectives are along the following lines:

★ 802.3at should operate on Cat.5 and higher infrastructure, unlike 802.3af, that had take into account the Cat.3 limitations.

★ 802.3at should follow the power safety rules and limitations pertinent to 802.3af

★ A 802.3at PSE must be backwards compatible with 802.3af, being able to power both 802.3af and 802.3at PDs.

★ 802.3at should provide the maximum power to PDs as allowed within practical limits, at least 30 W.

★ 802.3at PDs, when connected to a legacy 802.3af PSE, will provide the user an indication that a 802.3at PSE is required.

★ Research the operation of midspans for 1000BASE-T

★ Research the operation of midspans and endspans for 10GBASE-T

Non-standard implementations

Cisco

Measure returned LinkPulse, then provide 48 V DC.
Requires special PHY. Filter will only couple LinkPulse not ordinary packets. Cisco manufactured 13 devices, WLAN access points and VoIP phones that were not compliant with the IEEE802.3-2005 Clause 33.
^[2]
And will deliver a maximum of 7.6 W.

3Com

"EPS" ('3C10220' & '3C10222' ?), Designed and Manufactured by PowerDsine, Inc (www.powerdsine.com)
Measure capacitance signature, then provide -24 V DC.

Homebrew

Commonly just wire the spare pairs 4-5 (positive) and 7-8 (negative) to an appropriate DC power source. Issues like wire resistance and maximum current have to be calculated. In many countries there are regulations for voltages above 50 V to be considered.

Example: Linksys WRT54G (12 V, 1 A) fed over 10 m Cat 5 cable (AWG 24, 0.2 mm²). The cable resistance will be 0.8 Ω, the resulting voltage drop 0.8 V. As the Linksys converts the voltage to 5 V internally this drop is not critical and the installation will work fine.

Notes

Category 5 cable uses 24 AWG which can safely carry 360 mA at 50 V according to the TIA latest ruling. The cable has eight wires and therefore the absolute maximum power transmitted is 50 V × 0.360 A × 4 = 72 W. Considering the voltage drop after 100 m, a PD would be able to receive 59 W. The additional heat generated in the wires by PoE at this current level limits the total number of cables in a bundle to be 100 at 45 °C, according to the TIA.
Drawbacks of IEEE 802.3af are:
:
★ Excessive voltage with peak of 60V (many components are limited to ~30V).
:
★ Undefined polarity (requires diodebridge which cause voltage drop and require more pcb space + components).
:
★ Undefined which pairs to use (multiple configurations must be handled which requires more pcb space + components).
A solution to this at least partially is to assume pin4,pin5 as positive (+) and pin7,pin8 as negative (-). This will not be standards compliant but will make PD implementation easier and not damage anything.

Another modification is to limit voltage from the PSE to 30V and thus enable the use of standard components. But this may destroy the PD if it's connected to a PSE that isn't modified to keep the voltage low enough.

Terminology

Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE)

Power Sourcing Equipment is a device (switch or hub for instance) that will provide power in a PoE setup. Maximum required power by such device in 802.3af is 19.2 W.
When the device is a switch, it's called an endspan. Else, if it's an intermediary device between a non PoE capable switch and a PoE device, it's called a midspan.

Power Device (PD)

Power Device is a device powered by a PSE and thus consumes energy. Examples include wireless access points etc..

See also

★ Power line communication

★ HomePlug Powerline Alliance

References

1. Banish Those "Wall Warts" With Power Over Ethernet
2. CommsDesign - Making the Most Out of 802.3af 06xxxx commsdesign.com

External links

★ Download the IEEE 802.3-2005 standard

★ IEEE 802.3af Task Force

★ IEEE 802.3at Task Force