Understanding Priority Disconnect Managing Power over Ethernet (PoE)
page 5-8 OmniSwitch 6250 Hardware Users Guide June 2012
Understanding Priority Disconnect
The priority disconnect function differs from the port priority function described on page 5-7 in that it 
applies only to the addition of powered devices (PDs) in tight power budget conditions. Priority discon-
nect is used by the system software in determining whether an incoming PD will be granted or denied 
power when there are too few watts remaining in the PoE power budget for an additional device. For 
example, if there are only 2 watts available in the current PoE power budget and a user plugs a 3.5W 
powered device into a PoE port, the system software must determine whether the device will be powered 
on. Based on priority disconnect rules, in some cases one or more existing devices may be powered down 
in order to accommodate the incoming device. In other cases, the incoming device will be denied power.
Priority disconnect rules involve the port priority status of an incoming device (i.e., low, high, and criti-
cal), as well as the port’s physical port number (i.e., 1/1). Understanding priority disconnect rules is espe-
cially helpful in avoiding power budget deficits and the unintentional shutdown of mission-critical devices 
when PDs are being added in tight power budget conditions. For detailed information on how priority 
disconnect uses port priority and port number criteria for determining the power status of incoming PDs, 
refer to the examples on pages 5-9 through 5-10.
Reminder. Priority disconnect applies only when there is inadequate power remaining in the power 
budget for an incoming device.
For information on setting the priority disconnect status, refer to the section below. For information on 
setting the port priority status (a separate function from priority disconnect), refer to “Setting Port Priority 
Levels” on page 5-7.
Setting Priority Disconnect Status
By default, priority disconnect is enabled in the switch’s system software. For information on changing the 
priority disconnect status, refer to the information below.
Disabling Priority Disconnect
When priority disconnect is disabled and there is inadequate power in the budget for an additional device, 
power will be denied to any incoming PD, regardless of its port priority status (i.e., low, high, and critical) 
or physical port number (i.e., 1/4).
To disable priority disconnect, use the lanpower priority-disconnect command. Since the switch allows 
you to set priority disconnect status on a slot-by-slot basis, be sure to specify the slot number in the 
command line. For example, the syntax 
-> lanpower 1 priority-disconnect disable
disables the priority disconnect function on slot 1.
Enabling Priority Disconnect
To enable priority disconnect, use the lanpower priority-disconnect command. Be sure to specify the slot 
number in the command line. For example, the syntax 
-> lanpower 1 priority-disconnect enable
enables priority disconnect on slot 1.