Power over Ethernet
PoE: A Success Story
In the process control industry, two sets of wires – one for communications and the other for power- were utilized. This, however, is quite costly and impractical. It didn't take long enough for engineers, being ingenious species1, to find a way to alleviate the growing need; thus, challenging them to find an answer to how structured cabling could be more economical and still efficient at the same time. And so the concept of Power over Ethernet (PoE) was born.
This paper provides a research of PoE and its advantages, and the fundamental changes brought about by this technology to commercial and industrial applications. An overview of the advancements on the technology is provided as well.
The Story behind the success Power over Ethernet or PoE technology describes a system to safely transfer electrical power, along with data, to remote devices over standard data cables in an Ethernet network (Cat 3/Cat5/Cat5e/Cat6).
Long before its discovery, structured cabling has been a puzzle for most integrators. Sometimes, they think that they have found a “perfect location” for a device, only to find out that it would be too costly or too burdensome to add a power outlet. At other instances, wires are needed to be extended because of the impossibility of the location of field devices. So, it has always been and will always be a problem if not for the breakthrough of the Power over Ethernet technology.
Whether installation of instruments is considered, or extending the reach of the network with strategically placed wireless access points, the risk of possible failure is increased by having remote devices that need AC power connections. Losing data during a power outage is one thing, but losing data and the process safety is something else entirely. Therefore, PoE became a must.
PoE is Standardized
PoE was invented by PowerDsine back in 1997 and the first power injector (Midspan) was installed in 1998. To save costs in the planning, wiring and
In the process control industry, two sets of wires – one for communications and the other for power- were utilized. This, however, is quite costly and impractical. It didn't take long enough for engineers, being ingenious species1, to find a way to alleviate the growing need; thus, challenging them to find an answer to how structured cabling could be more economical and still efficient at the same time. And so the concept of Power over Ethernet (PoE) was born.
This paper provides a research of PoE and its advantages, and the fundamental changes brought about by this technology to commercial and industrial applications. An overview of the advancements on the technology is provided as well.
The Story behind the success Power over Ethernet or PoE technology describes a system to safely transfer electrical power, along with data, to remote devices over standard data cables in an Ethernet network (Cat 3/Cat5/Cat5e/Cat6).
Long before its discovery, structured cabling has been a puzzle for most integrators. Sometimes, they think that they have found a “perfect location” for a device, only to find out that it would be too costly or too burdensome to add a power outlet. At other instances, wires are needed to be extended because of the impossibility of the location of field devices. So, it has always been and will always be a problem if not for the breakthrough of the Power over Ethernet technology.
Whether installation of instruments is considered, or extending the reach of the network with strategically placed wireless access points, the risk of possible failure is increased by having remote devices that need AC power connections. Losing data during a power outage is one thing, but losing data and the process safety is something else entirely. Therefore, PoE became a must.
PoE is Standardized
PoE was invented by PowerDsine back in 1997 and the first power injector (Midspan) was installed in 1998. To save costs in the planning, wiring and