PoE promises a simplified infrastructure for your WLAN, VoIP and building security. It also lets you collapse your power network to the data center so you can centralize your power distribution and add redundancy. That's crucial for ensuring that your mission-critical voice system and building security, for instance, are always available.
But 802.af may entail more than buying new switches. It can mean making a strategic investment in an electrical power infrastructure. When planning new construction, provision for PoE by investing in DC power or high-capacity AC infrastructure (such as 220-volt, high-current service) for your wiring closets. If you're retrofitting an existing building with PoE, be sure you understand the features and limitations of your infrastructure provider's PoE solution. And if retooling your existing power infrastructure isn't feasible, decide which end stations really need PoE and which can still get by with an ugly wall wart.
Joel Conover, a former senior technology editor of NETWORK COMPUTING is principal analyst for enterprise infrastructure at competitive intelligence firm Current Analysis. Write to him at [email protected]. Some savvy questions to ask your 802.3af vendor:
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