power over ethernet

Power over Ethernet or PoE technology describes any system to transmit electrical power, along with data, to remote devices over standard twisted-pair cable in an Ethernet network. This technology is useful for powering IP telephones, wireless LAN access points, webcams, Ethernet hubs, computers, and other appliances where it would be inconvenient or infeasible to supply power separately. The technology is somewhat comparable to POTS telephones, which also receive power and data (although analog) through the same cable. It works with an unmodified Ethernet cabling infrastructure. Power over Ethernet (PoE) or Active Ethernet is a technology that integrates both power and data over a standard Category 5 Ethernet cable Local Area Network (LAN) infrastructure.

Note on Terminology: There are several general terms used to describe this feature. The terms Power over Ethernet (PoE), Power over LAN (PoL), Power on LAN (PoL), and Inline Power are synonymous terms used to describe the powering of attached devices via Ethernet ports. Additional terms, such as Powered Device (PD) and Power Source Equipment (PSE) are terms that are not synonymous with PoE, but are directly related to the feature

There are several PoE implementations, ad-hoc techniques, but the PoE supplying power according to the IEEE standards are strongly recommended.

PSE puts power into the cable and a PoE power splitter PD draws power from the cable. The two devices actually deliver PoE according to the safe standard IEEE 802. 3af. Power Over Ethernet.