User’s Manual: SW-10200
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APPENDIX C: PoE OVERVIEW
IEEE802.3af, also called Data Terminal equipment (DTE) power via Media dependent interface (MDI), is an
international standard which defines the transmission for power over Ethernet. 802.3af delivers 48V power over RJ-45
wiring. Besides 802.3af, two types of source equipment are defined: Mid-Span and End-Span.
Mid-Span: A Mid-Span device is placed between a legacy switch and the powered device. Mid-Span taps unused
wire pairs 4/5 and 7/8 to carry power. The other four are reserved for data transmission.
End-Span: An End-Span device connects directly with a power device. End-Span devices can also tap the 1/2 and
3/6 wire pairs.
C.1. PoE System Architecture
The specification of PoE typically requires two devices: the
Powered Source Equipment (PSE)
and the
Powered
Device (PD)
. The PSE is either an End-Span or a Mid-Span, while the PD is a PoE-enabled terminal, such as IP Phones,
Wireless LAN, etc. Power can be delivered over data pairs or spare pairs of standard CAT-5 cabling.
C.1.1. Power Transference through a CAT5 Ethernet cable
A standard CAT5 Ethernet cable has four twisted pairs, but only two of these are used for 10BASE-T and 100BASE-T
specifications. The specification allows two options for using these cables for power, shown in Figure 8-1 and Figure 8-2:
The spare pairs are being used in these diagrams; Figure 8-1 shows the pair on pins 4 and 5 connected together,
forming a positive supply and the pair on pins 7 and 8 connected, forming a negative supply. In actual use, either polarity
may be used for power transference.
Figure 37
– Power supplied over spare pins
The data pairs are used in this next figure. Since Ethernet pairs are transformer coupled at each end, DC power may
be applied to the center tap of the isolation transformer without upsetting the data transfer. In this mode of operation the pair
on pins 3 and 6 and the pair on pins 1 and 2 can be of either polarity.