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Networks

What is Power over Ethernet?

Power over Ethernet or PoE technology describes a 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.

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.

There are several PoE implementations, including ad-hoc techniques, but supplying power over ethernet according to the IEEE standard is strongly recommended.