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IP Telephony Drives in Power over Ethernet
GuitarNeophyte writes "The Channel Register states that although the idea for Power Over Ethernet has been around for a long time, the stage may finally be set for it to become an essential factor in our technical lives. One of the main reasons is because of the emergence of ip telephony. 'Telephones need to work in an emergency including when there is a power failure. Traditional telephones do, but IP phones will only do so if there is an uninterrupted power supply (UPS). The only practical way of guaranteeing power supply to a large number of IP phones is PoE.' Will IP telephones bring in PoE?"
My phone line has rarely gone down if ever. I can't come close to saying that about my internet connections, cable or DSL. The fact that we have two small children means when I pick up that phone in an emergency, I want it to work. I don't want to be mucking around rebooting computers and routers. That's why I've stayed away from VOIP over my existing internet connection.
Any thoughts on the reliability of this? Will VOIP ever be as solid as good old copper? I mean, you have issues (DDOS) with VOIP you just don't have with traditional PSTN service.
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PoE (802.3af) is incredibly useful in for business deployments of video cameras and wifi access points, not to mention mini-switches and outdoor wireless bridge equipment. You can even power a laser link with PoE. It makes life easier for those averse to paying out huge amounts of cash to have an electrician come in and put in new outlets. I've been playing with PoE splitters recently to power non PoE gear at 5 & 12V DC - the splitters are $35 ea and are switchable between voltages.
Nice thing about PoE in the switch is that you have the ability to remotely power cycle a device.
I have 135 wireless access points and 100+ IP telephones in this hospital. If one freaks out and becomes non-responsive, I can shut the port down and bring it back up for a cold start. Doesn't happen very often, but I live 45 miles away, and it's a lifesaver in the middle of the night.
Also, the switch will auto-detect whether the device needs power or not. The injector panels I've seen are dumb, and will happily provide enough juice to fry your NIC if you happen to plug into the wrong jack.