What is POE?
Power Over Ethernet (POE), is a method of being able to combine power into an Ethernet Cable to allow one cable to be used to provide both the power and data for a device.
The biggest benefit of POE is that just the one cable needs to then be routed, to the location of the hotspot.
Injectors and Splitters
There are two parts to POE, the side where the power is injected into the cable. And then at the other end where the power is split apart.
Injectors
Typically on the side where the network connection is provided, there is a POE injector.
These adaptors typically have a connector where one cable would connect to your Network’s Router or Switch, a power input and then another connector which you would connect to the cable leading to the other side.
In some cases you may find you already have a POE enabled switch, these often can be identified by checking if your switch has ports marked POE.
With these the injector is already built in and provides POE power on the ports marked POE.
Splitters
On the device side, we then require a splitter or a POE capable device.
A splitter then separates the power from the Ethernet Connection and typically provides the correct connections required for use.
Some splitters also adjust the voltage down to one suitable for use by the device. This is explained below in the different standards segment.
POE capable devices such as the Nebra Outdoor Hotspot have a splitter built into them.
In cases like this no additional splitter is required and the network cable connects directly to the unit to provide power and network.
Non POE capable devices such as the Nebra Indoor Hotspot require a splitter to be powered via POE.
Different Standards
One common confusion with POE is that there are different standards.
The most common standard, and often what is referred to as POE is the 802.3AF 48V standard.
This is the main standard of POE and is what the Outdoor Hotspot supports out of the box. With a suitable POE injector (explained in the next part) this is the easiest setup with the outdoor hotspot.
The second most common standard is 12V Passive POE, this is where
source: nebra.com
