Power Over Ethernet

What Does Power Over Ethernet Mean?

Power over Ethernet (PoE) describes a design where electrical power is passed along twisted-pair Ethernet cables. This type of electrical engineering is great for convenience and practicality for a wide variety of small electrical appliances. Power over Ethernet can involve standardized or ad hoc systems.

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Techopedia Explains Power Over Ethernet

Many power over Ethernet setups are used for relatively low power consumption for appliances that benefit from having a single cable transmit data and electrical power. One common example is the VoIP desk phone – while supplying the telephone line, the Ethernet line also supplies the minimal amount of power needed to light the display and serve the other power needs of the telephone handset.

In addition, power over Ethernet cable designs standardized by IEEE support other types of devices such as small IP cameras, network routers, network switches, and some types of wall clocks, as well as many access control and keyless entry systems.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…