The Ethernet Alliance will begin prestandard testing of new Power over Ethernet (PoE) technologies during its February plugfest at the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL).
Set to be held the week of Feb. 18, the plugfest will focus on prestandard testing of Power over Ethernet technologies against Draft 3.2 of the IEEE P802.3bt standard.
Upon completing the plugfest, the Ethernet Alliance and participating companies will have greater insight into the development of the IEEE’s PoE standard and the second generation of the Ethernet Alliance’s PoE Certification Program.
A key focus of the new PoE standard is power. To satisfy the growing array of emerging devices and applications that require larger amounts of power, the IEEE P802.3bt standard is being developed to allow delivery of up to 90 watts of power via existing Ethernet cabling.
Prior to getting the standard ratified in September 2018, the Ethernet Alliance is hosting a members-only interoperability plugfest to test equipment to perform prestandard testing against the IEEE P802.3bt draft standard. Findings will be shared with the IEEE 802.3bt Task Force. Data gathered during the event will also be leveraged for the second generation of the Ethernet Alliance’s PoE Certification program.
“We’re seeing a rapid acceleration in the global demand for the latest PoE-enabled technologies, and interoperability is the key to satisfying the market’s growing appetite. Bringing the ubiquity of PoE to new audiences means first ensuring products deliver the interoperability users expect of Ethernet,” said John D’Ambrosia, chairman of the Ethernet Alliance and senior principal engineer for Huawei, in a release.