GarrettCom has integrated power-over-Ethernet (PoE) ports into its line of Magnum 6K Series Managed Ethernet Switches to provide a clean and cost-effective solution for supporting PoE appliances such as video surveillance cameras in power utility substations and other industrial applications where security or remote access to an industrial network is required.
GarrettCom's expanded power-over-Ethernet offerings now include a series of PPort Modules, incorporating 4 to 8 PoE ports, that can be factory-configured in any 6K switch. GarrettCom, which pioneered the mixed-media modular Ethernet product in 1993, is believed to be the first to offer the convenience ports integrated into industrial-grade switches, both managed and unmanaged.
"PoE is approaching critical mass in industrial usage," said Frank Madren, GarrettCom president. "Since we introduced our hardened four-port Magnum PS14P PoE Power Source Convenient Switch in June of last year, we have seen a number of PoE products - both power sourcing equipment (PSE) and powered devices (PD) enter the industrial market. GarrettCom is going one step further by providing a flexible managed switch that allows PoE ports to coexist with regular fibre and copper ports. With growing numbers of power substations standardising on the Ethernet protocol, PoE is an obvious choice for remote applications - particularly security and VoIP."
"We have been looking for this kind of capability," said Peter Christie, managing director, Spanish Computer Services/Installations, a leading power utilities integrator in Spain and Portugal. "PoE provides an effective way of deploying and managing VoIP and remote security cameras in substations, but we did not like having to have a separate Ethernet box to do it. Integrating PoE into 6K switches has provided a streamlined and cost-effective way to handle the situation."
GarrettCom offers a line of heavy-duty PoE Power-Sourcing switches, ranging from small 4-port switches to rugged 32-port managed switches with Gb backbones. The new PoE port modules for 6K switches come in 35 different port configurations to address a wide variety of application needs. Modules are factory-configured, and the company is offering upgrades for existing 6K switches.
The Magnum 6K Series of managed Ethernet switches includes up to 32 ports of configurable Ethernet connectivity ranging from 10 Mb copper to 1 Gb fibre backbones in a single switch, as well as sophisticated managed networks software featuring security, redundancy, performance and ease-of-use. PoE combines data and power on the same copper cabling, greatly simplifying and reducing installation costs. Industrial control systems are using PoE to get Ethernet benefits such as interoperability across multiple vendors, high bandwidth, topological flexibility, and optional redundancy, in conjunction with the single-media data and power transmission formerly offered only by fieldbuses.
The growing list of PoE devices available for industrial systems now includes video cameras, rugged VoIP phones, wireless access units, annunciators, dataloggers, and sensors. While the industrial market has lagged behind commercial offices in the adoption of PoE technology, GarrettCom believes that the clear benefits of PoE in extending connectivity to outlying appliances will encourage increasingly rapid adoption as additional PDs become available. Ethernet is the only affordable protocol available that can support the bandwidth requirements of security systems such as video cameras and print and iris readers. According to Madren, with the availability of PoE, the last fieldbus technical advantage has been removed, allowing Ethernet to appear anywhere in an industrial application where serial modems and fieldbuses are currently deployed.
Two designs
Power Pass-Through and Power Inside PoE modules are available in two formats: Pass-Through and Power Inside. The 48 V d.c. Power Pass-Through modules, with up to 8 PoE ports, can be configured in 6K-Series switches with 48 V d.c. power. Magnum 6K-Series switches with AC or 125 V d.c. power require a Power Inside power supply that can support up to 4 PoE ports.
Each PoE-enabled RJ-45 port can drive 802.3af-compliant PDs as well as deliver 10/100 Mb data transmission over the same twisted-pair cable. The PoE modules have an auto-sensing algorithm that cuts off power when 802.3af-compliant devices are not attached. Proprietary PoE and non-PoE equipment are not recognised, which protects them from possible electrical damage. GarrettCom's Magnum PoE Port Modules support the Power-over-Ethernet PSE standard for over-current protection, under-current detection, and fault protection.
For more information contact Blaize Magee, WoodBeam, 011 606 2777, [email protected]
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