Houston Network POE Switch

Power over Ethernet (PoE) is a continually developing technology that allows delivery of both electrical power and network communications through a single cable. It is used for a variety of reasons and with a variety of powered devices. Currently, the technology is on its fourth iteration with a fifth one in the works.

PoE systems typically include only two items - powered devices (PDs) and power sourcing equipment (PSE). As their names imply, PD's use the electrical energy delivered through the cable while the PSE supplies it. There are many configurations for handling this situation depending on the actual cabling available and the end-user needs. Also, you may encounter such terms as "splitter," which is a box that helps keep the data stream and the electrical power separated or "switch," which is used to manage the power during delivery.

PoE is compatible with a variety of powered devices. One of its most notable uses is with isolated pan, tilt and zoom IP cameras whose location is far from a conventional electrical outlet. In particular, this ability is quite valuable when installing the cameras on the outside of digital buildings or in other inaccessible spaces such as drop ceilings and crawl spaces. Additionally, the earliest versions of PoE can be used to power such items as smartphones and tablets.

The latest generation technology of PoE is far more powerful and are quite capable of powering – or recharging – such more energy-intensive products as VoIP phones, network routers, IPTV decoders, LED lighting fixtures, and industrial control systems.

Pros
Why is PoE so important to Ethernet networks? The benefits of PoE are numerous from both a network efficiency standpoint as well as a cost standpoint. Any sized organization can enjoy the benefits of integrating Power over Ethernet into their network designs.

Flexible and more Efficient Network Designs
With PoE, the constraint of having AC power outlets is eliminated. This provides flexibility in placing PoE-enabled network equipment such as VoIP phones, wireless access points, and IP cameras in the most optimal locations instead of choosing locations where power is available. Optimal placement of networking devices leads to more efficient network designs and better application performance. PoE enables the easy placement of equipment on ceilings, high on walls, or in outdoor locations that may yield better network performance.

Simplified, Faster, and Lower Cost Installations
The electrical component is greatly diminished from network installation projects. No longer are budgets and schedules impacted by the requirement of paying for and coordinating the installation of AC power outlets for networked equipment. As a result, network installations can be accomplished easier, faster, and for less cost.

Eases and Accelerates Adds, Moves, and Changes or Temporary Deployments
Network adds, moves, and changes can be accomplished faster with PoE-enabled switches and network devices. No longer will the business be impacted by delays in completing network modifications or upgrades. The network will be more flexible and accommodating to changing business and network requirements. Additionally, PoE can facilitate temporary network deployments like mobile offices, mobile classrooms, tradeshows, or meetings by eliminating the need for the installation of additional power to support networking devices.

Enables Centralized Power Management
Using a PoE infrastructure enables centralized power management capabilities for your mission critical network devices. In a power outage critical networking devices like VoIP phones and IP security cameras will become inoperable unless they are protected by an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) with battery backup.

Having the networked equipment distributed throughout your building or campus requires the distribution of several UPS systems. With PoE, a single, centrally managed UPS can be used to supply backup power to your PSE equipment. All the distributed PD networking devices can then receive battery-backed power even in power outages. Centrally managed power also enables remote shutdown or remote reset capabilities. Through managing a PoE-enabled LAN switch via a web browser or by SNMP, remote networking devices can be easily reset or shut down saving the time and expense of dispatching a technician.

Simple cabling, reduce installation cost
Centralized power supply, one network cable can transmit data and power supply, PoE enables network devices no longer require extra power supply, greatly reduce the installation cost and time.

Safe and convenient
Power Sourcing Equipment only provides power supply to PoE-enabled devices. For example, PoE switch only transmit power supply when it detects the connection of PoE-enabled devices. This can avoid the risk of leakage. Users can mix use existing non-PoE device and PoE-enabled devices, both of them can co-exist.

Cons

Power Condition
Any disturbances on the power lines can cause a number of PoE problems. Typically, most of these problems are temporary, short term problems—for example, a lightning storm of power maintenance can cause a device to reboot; however, there are more serious effects too. For example, the power supply may appear shut down as there’s no output to any PoE port. That being said, users need to be sure of the reliability of their power source and monitor their system to be sure of no regular discrepancies.

Limited Power Capacity
Switches are typically PoE-enabled—meaning their wattage includes the power to run the switch and the ports; therefore, users need to be sure their adapters have enough wattage to power all the available ports, otherwise they’ll remain unpowered.

Compliance
Users can run into a lot of trouble if their device is not compliant—meaning the device does not support PoE. While non-compliant devices can be fit to allow for PoE, it requires additional tools/equipment and extensive knowledge and know-how. That being said, users should be sure their selected device is PoE ready.

Environment
Typically, PoE is well suited for small, low-power, local networks. In order to get PoE suited for larger environments, users need to augment their power supplies; however, in doing so, they are more vulnerable to new issues such as line losses. Even still, if users still deploy PoE over larger environments they can use AC power to boost their power output. This again leads to even more technical issues.