Here is some info froma couple of slides I saw at a recent Cisco seminar that discussed the IEEE 802.3af PoE Standard.
Cisco original implementation:
Provides 48VDC @ up to 6.3 watts per Ethernet port
Supported by Cisco devices such as
IP phones and wireless access points
Identifies device requires power and only delivers
power to devices that require power
Uses CDP to manage power delivery
IEEE 802.3af standards-based Power over Ethernet:
Specifies 48VDC @ up to 15.4 watts per Ethernet port
Increased power enables a new range of Ethernet powered devices
Uses standards-based discovery and power delivery methods
Several optional elements to standard
802.3af compliance is only relevant to new
devices introduced into the network – existing
devices are supported with current interfaces
Future Cisco PDs and PSEs will support both Cisco inline
power and 802.3af inline power where relevant
Cisco inline power PDs work with next-gen Catalyst switch modules
Next-gen PDs work with existing Catalyst switches
Manual configuration is NOT required – its automatic
As the customer deploys incremental network upgrades the network
seamlessly migrates towards the 802.3af
Cisco implementation and 802.3af compliant modules & switches
can be intermixed mitigating the need for complete upgrade situations
From my understanding at the presentation NONE of the Cisco products currently support the IEEE standard, but they will support a mixture of the Cisco implementation and the IEEE standard in the future with additional modules/software changes.
HTH
D
