3 
Planning 
Planning 
This chapter discusses the planning process a user should follow to success-
fully implement a PoE switch. After understanding what PoE is and its 
operating rules, the next step to implementation is planning. The following is 
an example list of considerations during the planning phase: 
■  What devices will need PoE power? 
■  How much power will each device require? 
■  What if power is lost to the switch? 
•  Power for the switch to operate (AC power) 
•  Power for PoE devices 
■  Which devices to plug into which ports and with what priorities? 
■  Are the appliances to be powered by PoE power supported? 
PD Power Requirements 
When a PD is initially connected to a PoE port, a minimum of 15.4 watts of 
available power is required to begin the power-up sequence. This 15.4 watts 
is needed to determine the type of PD requesting power (see “PD Power 
Classification” on 
page 2-5). Once the power classification is determined and 
power is supplied, any power beyond the maximum power requirements for 
that class of PD is available for use. 
In the default switch configuration all PoE ports have a Low priority. If the 
switch has less than 15.4 W of PoE power available, the switch transfers power 
from lower-priority ports to higher-priority ports. See “Priority Classification” 
on
page 2-5 for information on the use PoE port priority classifications. Within 
each priority class, a lower numbered port is supplied power before a higher 
numbered port. 
Disconnecting a PD from a port causes the switch to stop providing power to 
that port and makes that power available to other ports configured for PoE 
operation. 
3-1