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Power over Ethernet (PoE) basics and beyond

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257 points voxadam | 8 comments | 16 Oct 25 14:09 UTC | HN request time: 0.998s | source | bottom
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stego-tech ◴[22 Oct 25 01:41 UTC] No.45664020[source]▶
PoE is a godsend that should really be in more consumer devices and households, alongside structured wiring. An AppleTV, Chromecast, or NVIDIA Shield can easily fit within the envelope of PoE+, as can many enterprise-grade switches and WAPs (see UniFi as an example). Converting AC to DC once at the switch is more efficient (in resources and often, but not always, power) than including bulky PSUs for every device, while simplifying the ease of setup for end users (in theory).

Whenever possible, I opt for PoE. It’s a damn shame it’s limited to a niche userbase given its myriad advantages.

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1. wmf ◴[22 Oct 25 01:57 UTC] No.45664107[source]▶
Probably USB-C wall outlets will end up solving this instead.
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2. greycol ◴[22 Oct 25 02:46 UTC] No.45664381[source]▶
Which is ok if done right, but if they're anything like the usb-a ones there'll be plenty that are continuously pulling much more power than they need let alone the danger of uncertified ones.

For those thinking about adding one they've grabbed off amazon and installing themselves, please do a bit of hunting and reading rather than just buying the first word soup brand cheapest ones. Also remember installing uncertified electronics in your walls is a good way to void your insurance if they're the cause of disaster and turn it into a legal battle even if they're not.

3. userbinator ◴[22 Oct 25 02:56 UTC] No.45664448[source]▶
Besides being reversible, USB-C is a horrible connector. Tiny contacts, no positive retention, and a massively overengineered standard that should've been broken up.
4. stego-tech ◴[22 Oct 25 12:20 UTC] No.45667939[source]▶
I thought so as well when USB-C was first seeing widespread adoption, but now I’m not so sure. High-end PoE deployments can reach 90W of power down the line, and even HDBASE-T can support 100W of power down the line. Combined with the 8P8C connector both use (which is easy to field repair or replace and has positive retention), and I’d much rather see more structured ethernet runs and outlets with PoE/HDBASE-T for all but the most demanding or performant kit.
5. beala ◴[22 Oct 25 13:45 UTC] No.45669069[source]▶
I don’t follow. What part of this would a USB-C wall outlet solve? This would just be swapping a 120/240v cable for a USB cable, right? PoE reduces the number of cables, among other advantages.
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6. numpad0 ◴[22 Oct 25 15:40 UTC] No.45670809[source]▶
They have shorter operational life than most computer keyboards.
7. wmf ◴[22 Oct 25 15:53 UTC] No.45671036[source]▶
Normal people use WiFi not Ethernet so they only need a power cable. If the outlet provides USB-C it eliminates the need for wall warts.
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8. wolrah ◴[22 Oct 25 16:24 UTC] No.45671521{3}[source]▶
If you're plugging in anyways why not make it ethernet though? Then you actually get multiple benefits (faster more reliable networking, freeing up wifi capacity for devices that actually need it) rather than just changing one cable for another.

I realize that for whatever unknown reason there are a subset of people who think everything should be wireless, but those people are wrong and should not be listened to.