PoE (Power Over Ethernet)
PoE (Power Over Ethernet)
PoE (Power Over Ethernet)
PoE:
Power over
Ethernet
Stefan Tauschek (Scantec)
Providing power to apparatus over network cables has always been usual practice for fixed-
line telephones, and now the same capabilities are becoming available on wired Ethernet. The
IEEE 802.3af PoE (Power over Ethernet) standard allows up to 13 watts to be supplied and its
successor, PoEPlus (802.3at), allows up to 30 watts. In this article we look at how it works in
theory and in practice.
Power over Ethernet (PoE) allows power to be supplied to IEEE standard PoE
all kinds of devices, from access points to IP cameras. Alt-
hough users will be happy to be relieved of the problem IEEE standard 802.3af defines PoE. The standard speci-
of finding a spare mains socket when connecting up their fies how both data and power are delivered over a net-
latest gadget, things are not so easy for the manufacturer work cable (generally Cat 5 or Cat 5e). An extension to
of networking equipment. A 24-port switch fully fitted out the standard, 802.3at, is already being worked on. It will
with PoE needs a power supply with a rating of nearly allow for higher power levels, sufficient to supply laptops,
1 kW. High-efficiency switching supplies and careful power video phones and high-power WLAN access points without
management are thus needed. the need for separate mains adaptors.
In delivering power over a network cable PoE is reminiscent
of analogue fixed-line telephone systems (POTS, or Plain
Old Telephone System) which provide phantom power to
apparatus over the a- and b-wires. PoE allows a modern
VoIP telephone to be powered in a similar way, without
needing a separate mains supply.
Switch
PSE
(power The problem of thin wires
transmitter)
Delivering electrical power over a Cat 5 Ethernet cable pre-
Midspan PSE
sents some technical difficulties. The conductors used are typi-
Figure 1. cally AWG 24 (approximately 0.5 mm diameter) and have a
Power can be supplied via resistance of around 94 7 per kilometre. The figure is slightly
endspan PSEs (PoE-capable higher than might be expected because the individual twis-
switches or hubs) or via ted conductors in 1 km of cable are slightly more than 1 km
PD
midspan PSEs with normal (power long. If we consider the maximum cable run for a single seg-
receiver) ment of an Ethernet network (100 m) and use four conductors
switches or hubs. The
connected device which IP Phone WAP Security to carry power, we can expect a total loop resistance in the
receives power is known
Camera
region of 10 7. If the connected device needs say 10 W of
as a PD. power at 5 V the current drawn will be 2 A and the cable
40 elektor - 12/2008
will drop 20 V and dissipate an astonishing 40 watts!
The conclusion is clear. To reduce losses in the cables we
need to use higher voltages at lower currents to send power
to the attached client devices, each of which will contain
a DC-to-DC converter to reduce the voltage to the required
level at a higher current. In the PoE standard the nominal
voltage supplied is 48 V (with an acceptable range being
36 V to 57 V) at a maximum of 350 mA. This means the
system is covered by the SELV (safety extra-low voltage)
regulations [1]. Figure 2.
In a Fast Ethernet system
Even at this voltage there is a noticeable voltage drop: power can be supplied over
0.35 A times 10 7 is 3.5 V. The network cable dissipates the two spare conductor
up to 1.2 W. DC-to-DC converters at both the supply and cli- pairs.
ent end ensure stability of the final supply voltage.
PoE topology
As Figure 1 shows, a PoE system consists of a source (the
PSE, or Power Sourcing Equipment) and a number of sinks
(PDs, or Powered Devices). There are two types of PSE: so-
called endspan devices and midspan devices. The former
are sources of data packets and current, while the latter pass
data packets through and add PoE.
Figure 2 shows how the unused pins 4 and 5 (positive) and
7 and 8 (negative) of an RJ45 connector can be used in
10BASE-T and 100BASE-T systems. An alternative is shown Figure 3.
in Figure 3, where phantom power is supplied on data pins Phantom power uses the
1, 2, 3 and 6. data conductors and hence
is also compatible with
Phantom power exploits the fact that Ethernet connections gigabit Ethernet.
provide galvanic isolation between pairs of connected
devices using a transformer at each end. It is therefore pos-
sible to add a DC voltage to the signals using the centre taps
of the transformers, without adverse effect on signal quality.
This form of PoE is generally preferred as with existing instal- PSE
Voltage
lations it is not always certain that the so-called spare pairs 57V
On Range
In Intermediate state,
voltage may range Classification
as shown until full Range
power is applied
PoE operation 14V5
10V0
At power-up a PSE device must first determine whether any 7V
V2
and check that there are no short-circuits in the network. 2V7 Reset
Time Figure 4.
Reset Signature Classification Intermediate-Idle ON
To this end the PoE standard specifies a signalling protocol Signalling protocol for
whereby the necessary information is exchanged at boot 802.3af PoE.
time to ensure effective power management.
After reset or power-up the so-called signature detection
sequence starts (yellow area in Figure 4). The PSE provides
a 0.1 V/s voltage ramp in the range from 2.7 V to 10 V. By
carrying out two impedance measurements it can determine Table 1
whether a PD is connected. If the detected impedance lies in The 802.3af standard defines four power classes plus a reserved class, which
the range 15 k7 to 33 k7 the classification phase begins. is used for PoEPlus.
If an impedance outside this range is detected, power is Class Use Signature PSE power PD power
disabled on the connection. < 5.0 0.44 W to
0 standard a 15.4
mA 12.95 W
The next step is to determine the power classification of
the PD. During this phase the PSE raises the voltage into 10.5 0.44 W to
1 optional a 4.0
the range 14.5 V to 20.5 V. The PD should draw a sig- mA 3.84 W
nature current which signals its power class to the PSE. 18.5 3.84 W to
2 optional a 7.0
The PSE can then determine the PDs power requirement. mA 6.49 W
The 802.3af standard specifies five power classes (see 28.0 6.49 W to
Table 1). 3 optional a 15.4
mA 12.95 W
12/2008 - elektor 41
TECHNOLOGY PoE
Classification
classification procedure. As Figure 5 shows, there are
Range
now two classification pulses. PDs conforming to PoEPlus
14V5
must initially identify themselves as class 4 devices. During
PoE (802.3at)
Startup
10V0
V2 Mark Range
the extra classification pulse they must then draw a signa-
7V
Figure 5. V1
Reset
ture current of 40 mA. A PoE standard device will ignore
The classification phase
2V7
Time the second pulse, allowing a clear distinction to be made
in 802.at consists of two
Reset Signature Classification Intermediate-Idle ON
between PoE and PoEPlus devices.
pulses.
Practical implementation
Many companies, including Linear Technology, Texas Instru-
ments and National Semiconductor, are already producing
chips to support PoE technology. Because of their high level
of integration we will look below in greater detail at prod-
ucts from Akros Silicon, a relatively young company.
with
thanks to an active rectifier, where the conventional second-
UVLO
Thermal
Managed
Emissions ary switching diode is replaced by a synchronously-con-
Limit Control
Figure 7. Protection AT
Detection trolled FET. This technique avoids the otherwise inevitable
ADET
Block diagram of a PoE PD Controller forward voltage drop of 0.5 V or more associated with
DC-to-DC converter using Schottky diodes, substituting the voltage drop across the
an AS1135. very low channel on resistance of a modern MOSFET. This
saves up to 0.5 W or even more at higher currents.
42 elektor - 12/2008
37V-57V
J17 R73 53.6k
1 C30
LVMODE
.1uF 80V
RJ1 802.3at Detect R74 6.04K NL
VBN {3}
RJ2 LED3
17 11 C36 0.1uF D13 LN1351CTR
YLED+ TRD1+ NDRV {3}
BLM18EG221SN1D 18 YLED- TRCT1 12 1 S3B-13 Green
2.0 A TRD1- 10 2
4 C34 0.1uF 3
L3 TRD2+
13 CT1 TRCT2 6 4
L4 14 5 5
L5 CT2 TRD2- C41 0.1uF
15 SP1 TRD3+ 3 6
L6 16 1 7
SP2 TRCT3
20
19
18
17
16
TRD3- 2 8
220 Ohm @ 100 Mhz 8 C45 0.1uF U4
220 Ohm @ 100 Mhz 19 TRD4+
7
ATDET
FSEL
NC2
VBN
NDRV
220 Ohm @ 100 Mhz 20 GLED+ TRCT4 95001-2881
GLED- TRD4- 9
220 Ohm @ 100 Mhz 15
CS CS {3}
21 1 14 CSS
SHLD1 NC CSS
22 SHLD2 {3} VDD48O 2 VDD48O COMP 13 COMP {3}
3 NC1 FB 12 FB {3}
BELFUSE MAGJACK 4 11
VDD48I LVMODE
0838-1X1T-W7 5 GND
RCLASS
RCURR
EPAD 21 LVMODE
GND1
GND2
VDD5
R70
BRD GND BRD GND
AS1135
6
7
8
9
10
20k
C12
180nF
D11 D10
CBRHDSH1-100/DF02S CBRHDSH1-100/DF02S R7
+
D14
R35 C23 R8 R71
~
~
C1 NL
4.02K BZT5V6 .5W
26.7K 1%
.1uF 100V 63.4K 1%
100nF
-
-
Dual footprint bridge Central Semi or Fairchild. Figure 8.
Connecting an AS1135 to
the Ethernet cable.
DO1608C-103MLB
C4 L1
{2} VDD48O
.1uF 100V
+ C6
10u 1.1A
C7 C8
DC-DC Converter
10uF 100V
2.2uF 100V
C35
1nF 100V
R59
Halo: TGSP-P026EFD20LF
Coilcraft:GA3567-BL Option Filter Inductor J16
100K T3 Short across
1 7 L7 1
2 2
9 2.2uH,MSD1278
_ NL
C15 C26 HEADER 2x1
D6 + + .100x.100
R62 10 R61
4 47uF 47uF C38
B1100 8 16V 16V +
0.0
NL 3
R77 330uF, 16V
11
C16 C28 C40
Place C10 & C11 0.0 + +
5
6
7
8
close to AS1135 5
D12
12 47uF NL 10uF
Q3 R68 C42 220pF 50V 16V 16V
R57 0.0
{2} NDRV 4 100k
6 BZT52C16-7-F
Si4848DY 16V .5W
8 3
1
2
3
Q4 7 2
D8 6 1
R12 1K
{2} CS 5 IRF7807Z
BZT52C16-7-F
C11 16V .5W
R11
4
0.18
100pF
R16 8.87k 1%
R95
MBR0520LT1
R17
{2} VBN
R22
C10 C17 D19 D17 10 R64
R23 2.94K 825
330nF 4.7uF 3.32K
8V NL 2K
BZT52C5V1 .5W U19
1 NC LED 8
R56 6.19K 1%
12/2008 - elektor 43
TECHNOLOGY PoE
Internet Linkss
Figure 10. The reference [1] SELV:
board from Akros Silicon, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extra-low_voltage
http://en.wikipedia.org/
rg/
ready for operation. [2] AS1135 product pagpage:
http://www.akrossilicon.
on.
http://www.akrossilicon.com/products/as1135.html
44 elektor - 12/2008