Have you heard about PoE switch? PoE switch is a switch supporting powering via cable, which can not only achieve data transmission like a general switch but also supply power to network terminals. In this article, we will introduce more details about the PoE switch to help you have a better understanding of it.
Part I. What is a PoE switch in Ethernet?
PoE Switch is a typical Ethernet powering system. When the devices connect to multiple pieces of equipment, PoE switches can simplify the cabling and reduce the network cost. PoE switches can be classified into multiple types, therein including managed PoE and unmanaged PoE switches. According to the port number, 8/12/24/48 port PoE switch is common in the market.
Advantages of PoE switch:
- Flexibility: PoE switch supplies power by Ethernet cable without extra wires. Therefore, it’s easy to install devices wherever they are located in.
- Reliability: POE technology transmits DC power through the network cable and adopts a series of safety protection measures for the transmission of output current in the network cable.
- Cost-efficiency: With a PoE switch, there is no need to purchase and install extra cables and sockets, which saves the cost of installation and maintenance.
- Remote management: If it is a managed switch, it allows you to visit them via Internet or LAN. Moreover, it enables you to restart the faulty devices remotely. There is no need for people to revise at present broken network camera or VoIP phone that needs restarting.
Part II. How does the PoE switch work?
PoE switch is always applied in IP cameras, VoIP phones and wireless access points (WAP). When the PoE switch is deployed in the network, below is the power supply operation process.
Detection: At first, the POE device outputs a low voltage on the port until it detects that the cable terminal is connected to an IEEE802.3af-compliant powered device.
PD end device classification: The POE device may classify the power receiving device (PD) after detecting it and access the power loss needed by the PD device.
Start of power supply: The PSE device starts supplying power from the low voltage to the PD device during a defined duration (usually less than 15s), continuing to do so until 48V DC power is supplied.
Power supply: Provides 48V DC power that is steady and dependable and that can support PD devices with a maximum power consumption of 15.4W.
Power off: If the PD device loses network connectivity, the PSE will immediately (often within 300 to 400 ms) stop powering the PD device and repeat the detection procedure to determine whether the cable terminal is attached to the PD device.
Power supply equipment (PSE, Power Sourcing Equipment) and power supply equipment comprise a comprehensive POE system (PD, Power Device). The PSE device powers Ethernet client devices and serves as the POE Power over Ethernet process’s administrator. The PD device is the POE system’s client and the PSE load that gets power.
Part III. Can I connect a PoE switch to a normal switch?
Compared with the PoE switch, the non-PoE switch is relatively cheap. But it can’t supply power for any devices like PoE switch. What should be noticed is that the PoE switch is not sole in the whole network. It can connect to the upward converge switch and downward aggregation switch. Normally PoE switch has an upstream port that connects to the general switch. Therefore, the PoE switch can connect to the non-PoE switch.
Part IV. How’s the V-SOL PoE Switch?
After learning what PoE switch is and its working principle, now let’s get to know what a real PoE switch is by taking an example of V-SOL PoE switches.
1. Layer 3 Managed Ethernet PoE Switch
The devices V3528-P and V3554-P are Layer 3 managed PoE switches. Both of them are new-generation smart switches developed for carrier IP MAN and enterprise networks. It adopts advanced hardware architecture and industry-leading port density.
V3528-P provides 24 GE (RJ45) and 4 10GE/GE (SFP+) ports. While V3554-P has 48 GE (RJ45) and 5 10GE/GE SFP ports. There are varied service characteristics and versatile IPv6 solution complete security mechanism. They can be applied in POL, FTTH, SOHO, Public Zone, and Enterprise. For instance, they can downlink to IPC and AP. The switches work as access layer switches to access data. Then, it uplinks to a Layer 3 managed Ethernet switch to collect the data and manage the devices.
2. Layer 2 Unmanaged PoE Switch
V11XX series and V10XX series are unmanaged PoE switches. They can provide high-speed network connections for Internet devices and supply power to IP cameras or wireless AP. These two series of switches use high-quality network chipsets and stable PoE chipsets, supporting the Layer 2 protocol. These series of switches meet the standard of IEEE802.3af/IEEE802.3at, which is safe and reliable.
Below are the products of the V11XX series.
Here is the list of the V10XX series.
The V-SOL Layer 2 unmanaged PoE switch can help users set up a secure and high-performance network with convenient installation and maintenance and rich services. They can be widely used in the scenarios such as small and medium enterprises, hotels, schools, etc.
Shown below, it’s the application diagram of the unmanaged PoE switch V1016-2G-S-P. There are 16 FE (RJ45, PoE) ports, 2 GE (Uplink, RJ45) ports, and 1 GE (Uplink, SFP) port. The IP camera, IP phone, and wireless AP can connect to FE ports to get power. It can uplink connect to a Layer 3 managed switch V3500-28X that is used to manage the device and data.
In conclusion, the PoE switch provides easy and cost-efficiency cabling, which has become a great choice in the application of IP cameras, VoIP phones and wireless AP. It’s believed that you have a better understanding of the PoE switch after reading the above content. If you want to get a high-quality managed/unmanaged PoE switch, V-SOL would be a good option.
