[Asterisk-Users] Power over Ethernet (PoE) switch recommendations

[Steven Ringwald]

William M Conlon wrote:
> Beware.  Although the Polycom 501s will sink power over ethernet (that 
> is they are powered by a cable pair within a cable that resembles 
> ethernet), they are NOT IEEE 802.3af POE devices!!!!!  They work on 12 
> volts (I think -- haven't measured it) instead of 48VDC.  So don't 
> expect to buy a POE source and expect the phone to receive power just 
> by plugging in a patch cable.  They must be powered by the Polycom 
> voltage sources.
>
> Nevertheless, here's what works for me:
>
> Netgear FS108 :: Polycom injector cable :: RJ45 coupler :: patch cable 
> :: Polycom 501
>
> Some notes:
> 1.  The Polycom injector cable should be plugged into a POE port on 
> the switch (the Netgear FS108 switch has both powered and unpowered 
> ports), or the Polycom injector will not source power.
> 2.  The Netgear FS108 is NOT sourcing power.
> 3.  The patch cable is a 50-foot CAT5.
> 3.  To beat a dead horse, the Polycom 501 itself, is NOT a POE phone, 
> IMHO.  Caveat emptor. 

They are 802.3af, if you buy the correct cable (they two different types):

(From http://www.voip-info.org/wiki-Polycom+Phones)

(phones with the cables)
SoundPoint IP 501 (NA PSU)|2200-11531-001|$270
SoundPoint IP 501 (IEEE PoE)|2200-11531-025|$295

(just the cables)
NA PSU for 30x,50x,600 Qty 5|2200-07496-001|$35
IEEE PoE cable for 30x,50x|2200-11077-002|$35
Cisco PoE cable for 30x,50x|2200-11014-002|$35

I believe the reason the 30x and 50x's are like this is because the 
standard was still in flux when they were designed. They put the POE 
"brains" into the cable to make it easy to switch to whatever standard 
was decided upon. The 601 comes with built in POE (compatible with Cisco 
and IEEE).

Steve