Phihong PoE midspans meet new specifications, ready for even higher-power applications

All Phihong PoE Plus midspans are compliant with the final .at specifications, said Keith Hopwood, vice president of marketing for Phihong USA. Our products are developed using our own microcontroller designs allowing us to modify the software and firmware for modifications in the standard without having to wait for silicon vendors to change their ICs, ensuring that our customers' existing midspans, as well as those on the shelves, are compliant right now with the new standard.

The POE36U-1AT is a single-port midspan designed to power wireless and WiMAX access points that require up to 26 watts of power, and is also ideal for IP telephones with streaming video and high-quality Pan Tilt Zoom Cameras with heaters for outside locations.

The POE125U-4AT is a 4-port midspan that provides 33.6W to power four wireless access points or security cameras. It also supports Cisco AP1250 Series products in full power mode and other high Bandwidth access points in full power mode.

The POE576U is a low-cost 33.6W-per-port midspan that provides 8 or 16 ports at full power for 10/100/1000 Base-T networks and requires no power management. This Power-over-Ethernet device, available in 8- or 16-port versions, is ideal for powering VoIP phones, biometrics and access for security systems, IP cameras and wireless access points.

The POE576U-24AFAT is a 24-port midspan that provides eight IEEE 802.3at ports with 33.6 watts per port and16 IEEE 802.3af ports with 15.4 watts per port in a single 1U chassis. Providing an ideal solution for sites where a variety of power levels are required, such as systems with several high-power access points, full-function security surveillance cameras, and a number of VoIP phones, this 'hybrid' midspan is available with SNMP network management support, as well as an external redundant power supply for five nines reliability.

The midspans provide diagnostic LEDs and are Gigabit-compatible. All products in the high-power midspan line have safety and protection systems designed to meet the IEEE 802.3 standards, including detection, disconnect and overload control. Over-temperature protection allows the midspans to automatically shut down without being damaged and the outputs are equipped with short-circuit protection. Also, in case of over-voltage, the outputs will shut down without any permanent damage to the midspan.

Beyond the .at standard, Phihong has already developed a next-generation Power-over-Ethernet midspan product line that offers the highest power-per-port available on the market. Currently available in 2- and 4-port versions, the POE240U-2MP and POE576U-4MP Gigabit-compatible Mega PoE midspans provide up to 95W of power per port, more than any other midspan or PoE-enabled switch, making them ideal for high-power applications such as computer workstations, LCD display panels, and wireless access points.

Even before the .at specification was approved, our customers were requiring much more than 30W of power per port, said Hopwood. This advanced Mega PoE midspan technology provides full-power on every port and is a more cost-effective solution for expanding your network's capability because it saves thousands of dollars in cost and time when compared to getting an electrician to install power where it is needed.

Phihong was a member of the 802.3at working group since its inception in 2005.