Reach PoE Tester Manual V1.4
02/15/2018
Page 5
2.
General
2.1.
Overview
Manufacturers of Ethernet Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE) such as Ethernet Switches
need to test PoE power functionality during manufacturing. Once a unit is in
manufacturing, it can be assumed that it has already been tested for full Compliance with
the applicable IEEE 802.3 PoE standard. It is not cost-effective, nor necessary, to
perform compliance testing at the manufacturing stage. What is needed is a functional
test that verifies the software’s ability to detect and control power, and the basic
connectors’ and magnetics’ ability to provide power and pass data.
The Reach RT-PoE tester family has been designed for cost-effective functional
production test. It assumes that the PSE can be operated in a “diagnostic” mode whereby
the power control and detection functions of the PSE can be individually tested. The
LLPD protocol specified by the 802.3at standard is not supported so as to keep the cost of
the tester low.
The Reach Power-over-Ethernet Tester Model RT-PoE3NL/8 provides diagnostic
functional testing of 8 PSE ports compatible with IEEE Standards 802.3af and 802.3at. It
can draw up to 720mA per port while passing gigabit traffic. It provides high density with
8 Powered Device (PD) loads in a 1U high chassis.
Each RT-PoE section has a “UUT” and a “REF” port. The UUT port is connected to the
PSE and acts as a PD load to that port. The UUT datapath is connected via power-
isolating magnetics to the REF port. In this way, an external data bit error tester or PSE
test functionality can be used to test data integrity while power load is enabled.
2.2.
Front panel
Picture 1: Front of RT-PoE3NL/8
