Now that the IEEE802.3at Power over Ethernet standard was rectified this month, the stage is set for a paradigm shift in terms of delivering power--up to 30W of it--to a broad range of appliances and networking equipment via Ethernet cables. A viable alternative to having to replace existing networking switches, according to Computerworld, would be employing the use of Midspans.

A Midspan is a device that sits between an existing networking switch and other networked devices for the sole purpose of injecting power into Ethernet data lines. This is done in compliance with PoE standards and allows administrators to decouple the PoE management from core network functions.

Compared to PoE switches, an additional advantage with the use of Midspans is that they tend to have significantly higher intelligence when it comes to power management and allocation techniques. Also, they allow an enterprise to gradually scale up their PoE deployment as opposed to a static strategy of getting as many ports on a PoE-enabled network switched as possible.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Computerworld

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