by CIO Staff

D-Link Offers Low-Cost PoE Upgrade

News
Jul 20, 20062 mins
MobileSmall and Medium Business

A new Ethernet adapter kit will allow remote devices to be powered over the network even if it not set up for Power over Ethernet (PoE).

D-Link’s DWL-P200 Power over Ethernet adapter kit will mean wireless access points, surveillance cameras, LAN bridges and routers can be used anywhere you can run an Ethernet cable, even if there is no main supply nearby.

This is already possible with the PoE standard, but it remains expensive to upgrade both your switches and remote devices to PoE-enabled versions.

The D-Link kit has a base unit that connects between an ordinary network switch and the Ethernet cable, injecting power onto spare cable pairs, plus a terminal unit that breaks out the power and provides the network device with a 5v or 12v feed.

The latter is important, according to D-Link marcomms manager Balvinder Singh Phull. He said that previous D-Link PoE kits—like many similar kits from other manufacturers—only supported 5v and therefore could not power devices such as 12v remote cameras. “It’s a flexible solution that delivers data and power simply, without the need of an electrician,” he added.

The DWL-P200 kit costs 29.36 pounds (US$54) plus VAT and can PoE-enable one Ethernet connection.

-Bryan Betts, Techworld.com (London)

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