PoE technology is a world-renowned solution to provide both power and data to the PDs via a single Ethernet cable at a maximum distance of 100 m. But in real life, it’s always applied in places beyond 100m with the help of multiple extension devices (i.e. PoE extenders, fiber optic link with regular/PoE media converters). But is there any method to extend Ethernet without additional equipment? In this blog, we’re gonna introduce a long-range PoE+ switch to achieve long-distance deployments with higher bandwidth.
PoE+ solution to surpass the 100-meter limit without additional extension devices
The long-range PoE+ switch is an economical and convenient technology to provide both power and data connection to the PoE-enabled devices (i.e. IP cameras, VoIP phones, access points) via a single Ethernet cable without extra power supply, overcoming the standard 100-meter Ethernet limitation. It is specially designed for long-distance deployments in hard-to-reach areas where AC outlets and networks are not available.
With the long-range PoE+ switch, you’re able to control the terminal devices remotely from a centralized point without deploying multiple PoE extension equipment for long cable runs. In comparison with other extension devices, cables are more reliable and durable. Although Ethernet cables are made to varying standards of quality, the typical Cat5 cables can last for at least 10 years yet are perfectly operational (15-20 years if well-maintained). The cable itself mostly deteriorates on the connectors due to oxidization, while a high-quality cable (IP65) can be buried directly under the ground to slow down the progress of deterioration. In addition, it addresses the problem of voltage drop in long-distance deployments. According to the IEEE 802.3 standards, PoE+ supports higher power output of up to 30W on a per-port basis to provide sufficient power to the edge devices.
A brief introduction of 800m long-range PoE+ switch
The 800m 8-port long-range PoE+ switch from Fastcabling includes 8 PoE+ ports (only port#1-#4 support 800m long-distance PoE to extend the Ethernet beyond 500 meters) and 2 Gigabit uplink ports with a network speed of 1000 Mbps for fast-speed data transmission. The network will gradually slow down as the distance increases, but it still can remain at 100 Mbps when it hits 500 meters (10 Mbps at 800 meters). Compliant with IEEE 802.3at/af PoE+/PoE, the switch can supply a maximum power of 30W per port (25.5W at the powered devices) with a total power budget of 120W. Although it’ll experience severe voltage drop at greater distances, the switch can still support 23.46 watts of power over a distance of up to 500 meters (17.56W at 800 meters-enough to power security cameras) to provide uninterruptible DC power to the PoE-enabled edge devices from a centralized power source, rather than a collection of distributed wall outlets.
The switch automatically detects the compatibility and power class of the connected devices. It is an unmanaged PoE+ switch with no configuration and software required, featuring plug-and-play installation. The hot-swappable feature allows you to remove or disable the devices without cutting off the power or taking the switch offline. The long-range switch can operate over a temperature range of 0°C~40°C and under the humidity of 10%~90% non-condensing. Moreover, the switch supports 6KV lightning protection on all ports to prevent power surges caused by the induction currents from lightning strikes. The fan-less heat dissipation design for thermal management also helps lower energy consumption, eliminate operating noise and reduce dust accumulation. And the LED indicators on the switch can be used to monitor the activity and performance of each RJ45 port. It has a wall-mountable metal housing, which gives you great flexibility in installation. One minor drawback of the switch is that it’s only applicable to indoor settings for it’s neither waterproof nor dust-resistant. But the two PoE adapters included in the Ethernet extension kit are completely waterproof with a rating of IP67 to help the edge devices transmit the signals back to the main network.
The working process of the long-range PoE+ switch
The 800m long-range PoE+ switch is a cost-effective solution in situations when you want to connect network devices that are far away from a power source. In the beginning, the switch sends a proper voltage pulse to the PDs to detect whether the electrical power is compatible between the PSE and PDs. Depending on how much power each device needs, the switch only sends just enough power to the terminal devices to prevent the situations of overload and underload. After measuring the amount of power each device needs, the switch will start to provide a low voltage to the PDs and then gradually increase to the full 48V DC power. When the PD is removed or short-circuited, the switch will simultaneously cut off the power supply to realize a stable power supply. For data connection, the long-range PoE+ switch should be used compatibly with the PoE adapter, for the edge devices are unable to send back the signals to the switch over such long distances. As previously mentioned, the switch has two uplink ports for network connection and data uploading. The PDs like IP cameras will send back the signals to the PoE+ switch through the same Ethernet cable, and the switch will transmit the data to the storage equipment like NVRs.
How to extend Ethernet with the long-range PoE+ switch?
Since the 8-port long-rang switch has 4 ports that support long-distance PoE, you can just daisy chain two Ethernet cables (300m+500m) with the RJ45 coupler to extend the distance up to 800 meters (10 Mbps). Although the coupler is only a temporary solution to extend the cable length without any amplification feature to improve the network performance, it offers a practical connection between two independent cables to realize long-distance deployments. Provided the long-range switch is not limited by the 100-meter Ethernet standard, the RJ45 coupler will be just enough to bridge the gap between the two cables. But the more couplers you use, the greater wire resistance will be, and the wire resistance will inevitably increase signal interference. Therefore, to decrease signal degradation, you can also opt for PoE extenders to re-boost the signals down the cable.
So you can build up an 800-meter-long wired connection between the switch and the PD by connecting two Ethernet cables together with a coupler or extender to deliver power and data to the edge device. Additionally, a PoE splitter can also be added to the PoE power chain to power non-PoE devices. And a PoE adapter is also needed to help the edge device send back the data to the long-range PoE+ switch. Though the rest of the PoE ports do not support long-range PoE, you can still realize long-distance deployments by daisy-chaining 5 PoE extenders or using altogether with a waterproof outdoor PoE switch. You can also build a high-speed fiber optic network with media converters to extend the distance beyond 80 km with significantly higher throughput and lower signal attenuation or distortion. Furthermore, it is also possible to set up a high-speed point-to-point or point-to-multipoint wireless data transmission for up to 3 km when using together with a pair of wireless network bridges.
Applications of the 800m long-range PoE+ switch
The long-range PoE+ switch is capable of establishing reliable high-speed PoE networking to extend the PoE+ signal up to 500 meters at 100 Mbps to allow your IP network infrastructure to be deployed flexibly anywhere within the distance of 800 meters, with 8 Gigabit ports to support edge device installations (port isolation-ideal for surveillance applications). It reduces the initial investments of installing new cameras because it eliminates the need for additional power supplies and associated AC power cabling to power the surveillance devices (i.e. IP cameras, security sensors or alarms). It enables the fast deployment and easy reposition of the security cameras with one Ethernet cable. Access points are oftentimes installed in ceilings or places where AC outlets are unreachable. Sometimes, they are not necessarily placed near the workstations or on the same floor, while deploying a long-range PoE+ switch offers you great flexibility in installation with better WiFi coverage and a faster network speed. And there is no need to support APs with additional power since the power is transmitted along with the data thanks to the PoE technology. And the switch is also applicable to other PoE-enabled devices such as VoIP phones, remote access control in remote areas where there is no power source and network available. Like any other PoE switch, you can mix the PoE and non-PoE devices, such as routers and computers, on the same switch by using PoE splitters to inject the power to the edge devices.
