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Configuring PoE Interfaces on EX Series Switches

Power over Ethernet (PoE) ports on EX Series switches supply electric power over the same ports that are used to connect network devices. These ports enable you to plug in devices that require both network connectivity and electric power, such as VoIP phones, wireless access points, and some IP cameras. This reduces the amount of wiring in a network, and also eliminates the need to position a powered device near an AC power outlet, making network design more flexible and efficient.

Configuring PoE Interfaces

To configure the PoE interfaces on a switch that supports PoE:

  • To configure all PoE interfaces with the same setting or settings:

    For example, to enable telemetry collection on all interfaces, using the default collection duration and interval:

    Note:

    For PoE to be enabled on all PoE-capable interfaces, the configuration must include the interface all statement in the [edit poe] hierarchy level. With the exception of EX8200 switches that were shipped from the factory with a Junos OS release earlier than Release 11.2, the factory default configurations of switches that support PoE include this statement.

  • To configure individual PoE interfaces with different settings:

    For example:

    When you configure an individual interface, its configuration overrides any settings you configure with the set poe interface all command. For example, ge-0/0/1 in the preceding example retains the default settings, regardless of any settings configured with the set poe interface all command.

Example: Configuring PoE Interfaces on an EX Series Switch

Power over Ethernet (PoE) ports supply electric power over the same ports that are used to connect network devices and enable you to plug in devices that require both network connectivity and electric power, such as VoIP phones, wireless access points, and some IP cameras. This reduces the amount of wiring in a network, and also eliminates the need to position a powered device near an AC power outlet, making network design more flexible and efficient.

You do not need to configure PoE unless you want to modify the default values or disable PoE on a specific interface.

This example describes a default configuration of PoE interfaces on an EX Series switch:

Requirements

This example uses the following hardware and software components:

  • One EX Series switch that supports PoE

    Note:

    EX4600 switches support PoE configuration on virtual chassis members only when operating in a mixed Virtual Chassis with EX4300 switches.

  • Avaya IP telephones

  • Wireless access point

  • Junos OS Release 9.0 or later for EX Series switches

Before you configure PoE, be sure you have:

Overview and Topology

The topology used in this example consists of a switch that has 24 ports. Eight of the ports support PoE (IEEE 802.3af), which means they provide both network connectivity and electric power for powered devices such as VoIP telephones, wireless access points, and IP security cameras that require 12.95 W or less. The remaining 16 ports provide only network connectivity. You use the standard ports to connect devices that have their own power sources, such as desktop and laptop computers, printers, and servers. Table 1 details the topology used in this configuration example.

Table 1: Components of the PoE Configuration Topology
Property Settings

Switch hardware

EX Series switch with 24 Gigabit Ethernet ports: 8 PoE interfaces (ge-0/0/0 through ge-0/0/7) and 16 non-PoE interfaces (ge-0/0/8 through ge-0/0/23)

VLAN name

default

Connection to a wireless access point (requires PoE)

ge-0/0/0

Connections to Avaya IP telephones with integrated hubs that allow phone and desktop PC to connect to a single port (requires PoE)

ge-0/0/1 through ge-0/0/7

Direct connections to desktop PCs, file servers, integrated printer/fax/copier machines (no PoE required)

ge-0/0/8 through ge-0/0/20

Unused ports (for future expansion)

ge-0/0/21 through ge-0/0/23

Topology

Configuration

To enable the default PoE configuration on the switch:

Procedure

CLI Quick Configuration

To quickly enable the default configuration on the switch:

Simply connect the powered devices to the PoE ports.

Step-by-Step Procedure

To use the PoE interfaces with default values:

  1. Make sure the switch is powered on.

  2. Connect the wireless access point to interface ge-0/0/0.

  3. Connect the Avaya phones to interfaces ge-0/0/1 through ge-0/0/7.

Verification

To verify that PoE interfaces have been created and are operational, perform this task:

Verifying That the PoE Interfaces Have Been Created

Purpose

Verify that the PoE interfaces have been created on the switch.

Action

List all the PoE interfaces configured on the switch:

Meaning

The show poe interface command lists PoE interfaces configured on the switch, with their status, priority, power consumption, and class. This output shows that eight interfaces have been created with default values and are consuming power at the expected rates.

Configuring PoE Interface Power Priority

Power over Ethernet (PoE) ports supply electric power over the same ports that are used to connect network devices. These ports enable you to plug in devices that need both network connectivity and electric power, such as VoIP phones, wireless access points, and some IP cameras.

You can configure a PoE interface to have a power priority. The power priority determines which interfaces receive power if PoE power demands are greater than the maximum PoE power consumption. If the total power allocated for all interfaces exceeds the maximum PoE power consumption, PoE power to lower-priority interfaces is turned off and the power allocated to those interfaces drops to 0.

By default, PoE ports on EX Series switches are set to low power priority. You can configure a PoE port to have a high power priority setting. If a situation arises where there is not sufficient power for all the PoE ports, the available power is directed to the higher priority ports. Ports that connect to powered devices such as security cameras and emergency phones should be configured with a higher power priority.

Among PoE interfaces that have the same assigned priority, power priority is determined by the port number, with lower-numbered ports having higher priority.

For EX6200 and EX8200 switches, interface power priority determines the relative priority of the interfaces on a line card, not on the switch as a whole. The relative priority of interfaces residing on different line cards is determined by line card priority. For example, if line card 1 has a higher power priority than line card 2 and a power shortage occurs, power is removed from the PoE interfaces in this order:

  • Low-priority interfaces on line card 2

  • High-priority interfaces on line card 2

  • Low-priority interfaces on line card 1

  • High-priority interfaces on line card 1

You can manually configure PoE interface power priority, or you can enable LLDP power priority, which assigns each interface the power priority provided by the connected LLDP-enabled powered device. Table 2 describes how the switch converts LLDP power priorities to switch power priorities.

Table 2: LLDP Power Priority Conversion to Switch Power Priority

LLDP Power Priority

Switch Power Priority

Critical, High

High

Low

Low

Note:

LLDP power priority requires LLDP power negotiation to be enabled, which is enabled by default when the PoE management option is set to class.

Example: Configuring PoE Interfaces with Different Priorities on an EX Series Switch

You can configure the power priority for a PoE port. If a situation arises where there is not sufficient power for all the PoE ports, the available power is directed to the higher priority ports, while power to the lower priority ports is shut down as needed.

This example describes how to configure a few high-priority PoE interfaces.

Requirements

This example uses the following hardware and software components:

  • One EX Series switch that supports PoE

    Note:

    EX4600 switches support PoE only when operating in a mixed Virtual Chassis with EX4300 switches.

  • Powered devices—wireless access point, VoIP telephones, and IP security cameras—that require PoE

  • Junos OS Release 9.0 or later for EX Series switches

Before you configure PoE, be sure you have:

Overview and Topology

The topology used in this example consists of a switch that has 24 ports. Eight of the ports support PoE (IEEE 802.3af), which means they provide both network connectivity and electric power for powered devices such as VoIP telephones, wireless access points, and IP security cameras that require 12.95 W or less. The remaining 16 ports provide only network connectivity. You use the standard ports to connect devices that have their own power sources, such as desktop and laptop computers, printers, and servers. Table 3 details the topology used in this configuration example.

Table 3: Components of the PoE Configuration Topology
Property Settings

Switch hardware

Switch with 24 Gigabit Ethernet ports: 8 PoE interfaces (ge-0/0/0 through ge-0/0/7) and 16 non-PoE interfaces (ge-0/0/8 through ge-0/0/23)

VLAN name

default

Connection to a wireless access point (requires PoE)

ge-0/0/0

Security IP Cameras (require PoE)

ge-0/0/1 and ge-0/0/2 high

Emergency VoIP phone (requires PoE)

ge-0/0/3 high

VoIP phone in Executive Office (requires PoE)

ge-0/0/4 high

Other VoIP phones (require PoE)

ge-0/0/5 through ge-0/0/7

Direct connections to desktop PCs, file servers, integrated printer/fax/copier machines (no PoE required)

ge-0/0/8 through ge-0/0/20

Unused ports (for future expansion)

ge-0/0/21 through ge-0/0/23

Topology

Configuration

To configure PoE interfaces:

Procedure

CLI Quick Configuration

By default, PoE interfaces are created for all PoE ports and PoE is enabled. The default priority for PoE interfaces is low.

To quickly set some interfaces to high priority and to include descriptions of the interfaces, copy the following commands and paste them into the switch terminal window:

Step-by-Step Procedure

To configure PoE interfaces with different priorities:

  1. Set the interfaces connected to high-priority powered devices to high priority. Include the telemetries statement for the high-priority interfaces, thus enabling the logging of power consumption on those interfaces:

  2. Provide descriptions for the PoE interfaces:

  3. Connect the wireless access point to interface ge-0/0/0. This interface uses the default PoE settings.

  4. Connect the two security cameras to interfaces ge-0/0/1 and ge-0/0/2. These interfaces are set to high priority with telemetries enabled.

  5. Connect the emergency VoIP phone to interface ge-0/0/3. This interface is set to high priority with telemetries enabled.

  6. Connect the Executive Office VoIP phone to interface ge-0/0/4. This interface is set to high priority with telemetries enabled.

  7. Connect the staff VoIP phones to ge-0/0/5, ge-0/0/6, and ge-0/0/7. These interfaces use the default PoE settings.

Results

Check the results of the configuration:

Verification

To verify that PoE interfaces have been created and are operational, perform the following tasks:

Verifying That the PoE Interfaces Have Been Created with the Correct Priorities

Purpose

Verify that the PoE interfaces on the switch are now set to the correct priority settings.

Action

List all the PoE interfaces configured on the switch:

Meaning

The show poe interface command lists PoE interfaces configured on the switch, with their status, priority, power consumption, and class. This output shows that eight PoE interfaces are enabled. Interfaces ge-0/0/1 through ge-0/0/4 are configured as priority high. The remaining PoE interfaces are configured with the default priority value of low.