5 Strategies To Deploy PoE switches

POE (Power Over Ethernet) refers to the existing Ethernet Cat 5 Without any change to the cabling infrastructure, while transmitting data signals for some IP based terminals (such as IP phones, wireless LAN access points AP, webcams, etc.), it can also provide DC power for such devices. poe switches are switches that support power over Ethernet.

A complete poe system includes two parts: PSE (Power Sourcing Equipment) and PD (Power Device). The POE switch is one of the PSE devices. The PSE device is the device that supplies power to the Ethernet client device, and is also the manager of the entire POE Ethernet power supply process. The PD device is the PSE load receiving power, that is, the client of the POE system.

The deployment of PoE switches is not only safe and reliable, but also cost-effective. However, this is a relatively new network technology. Keep in mind the following five strategies to ensure the successful deployment of PoE switches.

1. Give sufficient power to the receiving equipment

It sounds very easy, but in the process of operation, it is not simple. The IEEE802.3af specification defines a five level power supply specification, which can give 12.95W power to the power receiving equipment in large quantities. In addition, it is necessary to consider the power damage caused by the length of the cable. Therefore, the power supply equipment must give no less than 15.4W power at each port number. For a 24 ports POE switch, it is necessary to give more than 370W of power. In addition, the switch also needs to consider the power required for data transmission.

Therefore, pay close attention to the power of power supply equipment: the POE power supply control module used in the positive intermediate connection method (taking the 24 ports poe switch as an example) must be no less than 370W, and the output power of the 24 ports POE switch must be higher than 370W. For the power, it depends on the power consumed by the data transmission of the switch. Generally speaking, you can use a non POE switch to measure the power consumed by the switch itself, and add the power of 15.4W for each port number to obtain the minimum output power required by a POE switch.

2. Application UPS

UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) is an uninterruptible power supply with energy storage device. It is mainly used to provide uninterruptible power supply for some equipment requiring high power supply stability.

Some power receiving devices powered by POE are usually machine devices that perform important daily tasks, such as virtual phones. Once the power is turned off, video and voice will be completely disconnected, and voice calls cannot be made. Whether it is a traditional program controlled phone or an IP phone, it is very important to keep it smooth. Therefore, when designing the Internet, it is necessary to distinguish the main equipment that can neither stop power supply nor stop data transmission, and apply UPS, an uninterruptible power supply machine and equipment, to carry out backup data power supply, so as to maintain smooth power engineering and data information.

3. Select standard PoE switch

The standard PoE switch is a network switch that conforms to the standard PoE power supply. It can be divided into PoE switch (IEEE802.3af), PoE+switch (IEEE802.3at) and PoE++switch (IEEE802.3bt) according to different standards. No matter which standard PoE switch is, it will be detected before power supply (mainly detecting the power receiving terminal devices that support IEEE802.3af or IEEE802.3at or IEEE802.3bt standards), In order to ensure the power supply compatibility between the switch and the receiving end equipment, so as to supply power. If the receiving end equipment supporting the Ethernet power supply standard is not detected, the standard PoE switch will not supply power to the connected equipment, thus effectively preventing damage to non-standard receiving end equipment and playing a protective role.

When deploying POE switch, make sure that the power supply end and the power receiving end are compatible with each other. Of course, if the power supply machinery and equipment and the power receiving equipment all conform to the POE specification, you have nothing to worry about. It is recommended that you carefully read the instructions and performance parameters before using the product. If necessary, you need to establish contact with the manufacturer's service support to ensure that the power supply machinery and equipment you use are compatible with each other. If you ignore this, you will probably waste time and money.

4. Try to choose higher level cables

What type of cable do you use? Maybe Cat5, 5e, or 6. The higher the cable level, the less power damage, and of course, the better the characteristics. However, it is strongly recommended that newer CAT6A and higher cabling be run when supplying power to equipment that requires 60W or higher sent through cabling. These types of cables use thicker conductor diameters to help reduce resistance. This is critical so that power is not lost due to the compound resistance on longer cable lines. CAT6A and higher cables also have better insulation and can handle the additional heat generated by higher power loads sent through the wire. This is particularly important when running higher power PoEs in large wiring bundles. Finally, thicker cables can provide higher power and faster Ethernet transmission speed for multi gigabit connections on twisted pair copper cables.

It is also important to remember that only four nodes can exist between the switch or hub and the network card. If the intermediate access method is adopted and PoE power supply module is used for power supply, the module itself should also be considered as a node. Many people often ask: What is the longest cable distance when PoE is used for power supply? The correct answer is that the distance from the switch/hub to the network card is 100 meters, not from the PoE power supply module to the powered device, because it is not the power supply that determines the length, but the data transmission.

5. Select cost-effective POE deployment mode

There are two ways to deploy POE, one is the end connection method, and the other is the intermediate connection method. The end connection method generally uses the POE switch as the power supply equipment. These methods are highly recommended for newly created Internet. Because of the simple network topology, the connection is not easy to make mistakes. In short, if you want to buy a new switch, you can pay more. It is very convenient to buy a POE switch.

If you have recently purchased or upgraded a switch and now want to deploy PoE devices, you find that the switch you just purchased is not PoE. In this case, it is recommended to use the intermediate access method. The PoE power supply module is connected between the original switch and the powered device, which is also 802.3af compatible. The problem can be solved perfectly with a slight increase in cost.