Power over Ethernet – The Industrial Opportunity Today by GarrettCom

Introduction

It took 10 years or longer for Enterprise-based Ethernet technologies to be adapted for use in industrial applications. Power over Ethernet (PoE), because of its tremendous advantages, is taking considerably less time. GarrettCom believes that the company contributed to faster adaptation through the introduction of the first industrial PoE switch in the spring of 2005, less than two years after the IEEE 802.3af (Power over Ethernet) standard was solidified. Today the company also offers PoE as a configuration option on managed Industrial Ethernet switches.

The Power over Ethernet (PoE) standard, which was adopted in June of 2003, allows users to power devices over Ethernet cabling. It was originally developed to provide power, as well as networking capability, in areas where the cost of providing– or the physical impossibility of deploying – electrical wiring limited its deployment potential. As such, PoE has contributed to VoIP and wireless market growth because it simplifies the RF survey task: access points can be easily moved because the requirement of locally-accessible AC power isremoved.

PoE is having important repercussions for industrial applications. The simplicity of combining signal and power in one Ethernet cable connection contributes to the already-rapid transition to Ethernet-based industrial control systems. Wireless access devices, IP phones, surveillance cameras, and a growing number of specialty devices are available, demonstrating how PoE can help solve industrial information and control systems applications problems in innovative ways. PoE industrial sensor and controller devices are on the drawing board. While the available power in a PoE-connected device is limited to about 13 watts, the vast majority of modern industrial sensors take less than 10 watts. It may soon be possible to power a full SCADA system from ports on Ethernet switches, along with non-traditional devices such as phones, cameras and PCs. PoE offers the potential for an economical, standards-based, highperformance industrial network far beyond what is available today.

Part One of this paper is devoted to the implications of PoE for industrial applications,and predictions for the adaptation timetable. Part Two of this paper briefly addresses thetechnology behind PoE.

GarrettCom (6 page pdf)

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