IEEE 802.3at Amends IEEE 802.3 - Information Tech Standard
October 1, 2009 // Published as a news service by IHS
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) published IEEE 802.3at, an amendment to IEEE 802.3, which is designed to offer improved power-management features and increase the amount of power available to wireless systems.
The improvements made in IEEE 802.3at are compatible with any device built to the 802.3-2005 standard, experts said.
IEEE 802.3at was developed by the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Working Group of the IEEE Computer Society's IEEE 802 Local and Metropolitan Area Networks Committee.
The amendment's full title is IEEE 802.3at - Standard for Information Technology - Telecommunications and Information Exchange Between Systems - Local and Metropolitan Area Networks - Specific Requirements Part 3: Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) Access Method and Physical Layer Specifications - Amendment: Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) Power Via the Media Dependent Interface (MDI) Enhancements.
"IEEE 802.3at uses the link layer discover protocol (LLPD) from IEEE 802.1AB, which allows dynamic power allocation and negotiation down to one-tenth of a watt and associated technology including type, length, values (TLVs) from IEEE 802.3bc, which was also recently approved," said Mike McCormack, chair of the IEEE P802.3at Task Force.
"In addition, we have increased available power up to 25 watts (W)," McCormack said. "This will allow power over Ethernet (PoE) to address applications such as high power wireless APs, gimbal mounted cameras and even some netbooks, as well as newer emerging applications."
Source: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standards Association (IEEE-SA).