Configuration Guide User guide
FastIron Configuration Guide 665
53-1002494-02
Power over Ethernet overview
• If a 52 volt-capable power supply is installed in a chassis that is operating with 54 volt-capable
power supplies that are actively providing power, the system will reject the newly installed
power supply since it cannot safely operate with the 54 volt-capable power supplies. In this
case, the 52-volt power supply will be powered OFF and an error message similar to the
following will display on the console.
Brocade(config)#
Power supply 1 (from left when facing front side) detected.
Power supply 1 (from left when facing front side) is up.
Shutting down power supply in slot 1 because it is not compatible with the
existing PoE power supplies. Please remove and replace.
When the system is next reloaded, the power supply voltage will be selected as described in
the section “Voltage selection during bootup” on page 664.
• If a 52 volt-capable power supply is installed in a chassis that is operating with 54 volt-capable
power supplies that are not actively providing power, the system will configure the power
supplies to operate at 52 volts. In this case, the newly installed 52-volt power supply will not be
powered OFF and a message similar to the following will display on the console.
NOTE: Automatically downgraded all PoE power supplies to 52V.
Voltage selection when a PoE power supply is removed
If a 52 volt PoE power supply is removed from the chassis, the system will survey the remaining
power supplies to determine if they are 54 volts-capable. If the remaining supplies are 54
volts-capable and the system is not currently providing power to any PDs, then the software will
upgrade the voltage of all supplies to 54 volts. The system will display and log a message similar to
the following:
NOTE: Automatically upgraded all PoE power supplies to 54V.
However, if the system is currently providing power to one or more PDs, the system will not upgrade
the voltage level. When the system is next reloaded, the power supply voltage will be selected as
described in the section “Voltage selection during bootup” on page 664.
Power over Ethernet cabling requirements
The 802.3af and 802.3at standards currently support PoE and PoE+ on 10/100/1000-Mbps
Ethernet ports operating over standard Category 5 unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable or better. If
your network uses cabling categories less than Category 5, you cannot implement PoE without first
upgrading your cables to Category 5 UTP cable or better.
Supported powered devices
Brocade PoE devices support a wide range of IP powered devices including the following:
• Voice over IP (VoIP) phones
• Wireless LAN access points
• IP surveillance cameras
The following sections briefly describe these IP powered devices.