How to Ensure Successful Deployment of a PoE Network?


Today, several industrial equipment and devices utilize long-length cables for power transmission. As the demand for more power increases, the usage of cables also increases. This inevitably leads to rising costs and complexities of deployment. This is where Power over Ethernet or PoE technology comes to the forefront. PoE Technology ensures power transmission through devices with less cable usage and minimum investment. The technology uses a single twisted-pair cable for power transmission and data connection. Similar to other technologies, PoE technology is driven by PoE switches. They are intermediate devices that trigger or terminate data transmission to specific network devices. Now, you may ask what to do for a successful PoE network deployment? What are various PoE deployment considerations? This post answers everything related to the PoE network deployment. So, stay tuned.  

Key Considerations for a PoE Network Deployment

Here is a list of key consideration for successful PoE network deployment. So, let’s have a look at them.

·         Provide Enough Power to the Remote Devices: PoE is one of the convenient methods of providing power using Ethernet cable to remote devices such as IP cameras, VoIP phones, and so on. In PoE, power is induced into the data cable and is extracted by the remote devices to get powered. Power devices operate in four power classes identified by the IEEE 802.3af PoE standard. According to this, powered-remote devices can draw up to 12.95 power watts. Considering the power loss through the long cables, the power-sourcing devices should provide a maximum of 15.4 watts of power to each port. In the case of Ethernet switches, additional power is required for PoE to perform its switching functions. Keeping this in mind, it is important to understand the size of the power supply used in each device. 

·         Connect Power Devices to an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) Devioce: It is important to connect your critical power sources to an uninterrupted power supply device. Why? Remote devices connected using PoE could be a part of mission-critical application networks and require uninterrupted power to function efficiently. For example, a VoIP phone without power is a lost voice electric circuit. So, sufficient power supply is required to operate power-sourcing devices without any interruption.  Therefore, design your network in such a way that reliable and consistent power and data transmission is maintained to these devices. 

·         Use IEEE 802.3af Compliant Devices: Several organizations develop products to different proprietary standards to support PoE cabling before the release of IEEE 802.3af standard. Most of these devices are being sold even after the standard is released. For deployment of POE, both sourcing and powered remote devices should be 802.3af compliant.

·         Check Cabling-Specifications: High-quality cabling serves flexibility, reliability, and the performance required for PoE. Therefore, when cabling for PoE, do check the manufacturer’s specifications, also look for CAT 5e and 6 compliances. Check for the fiber optic cable type in case of fiber optic networks. Try to reduce the total number of cables per unit to minimize heat generation. This is because heat generation can lead to shorter permissible cable length, high insertion loss, higher power costs, and so on.

·         Select a Budget-Friendly PoE Method: The main advantage of PoE is that it runs on the existing network infrastructure. Hence, several IP-based technologies are used to decrease the overall networking costs. Before running your network, do check whether Ethernet switches are IEEE 802.3af compliant or not. Also, use midspan devices to inject power. They are relatively economical to purchase and install.

From the above information, you will understand how PoE switches ensure successful PoE installation. If you are planning to buy high-quality, performance-driven PoE switches for your network integration, you must source them from an industry player like VERISTRON. Over the years, the company specializes in manufacturing and supplying industrial PoE switches in different configurations.