LTPoE++ Extends PoE to 90W with Reliable and Easy-to-Use Standard

July 2011
I N
T H I S
I S S U E
RS485 and RS232
transceivers combined in a
single device 12
Volume 21 Number 2
LTPoE++ Extends PoE to 90W with
Reliable and Easy-to-Use Standard
Heath Stewart
fast-acting IC protects
sensitive circuits from
overvoltage and reverse
supply connections 23
microprocessor power
supply works with FET
drivers, DrMOS and power
blocks 26
±5V split-voltage power
supply for analog circuits
40
Power over Ethernet, or PoE, is an increasingly popular
way to deliver both power and data over existing Ethernet
cable, thus freeing applications from the constraint of
AC-power proximity. As the number PoE solutions has
grown so has the applications’ appetite for power.
A new proprietary standard, LTPoE++™, satisfies this hunger
by extending the PoE and PoE+ specifications to 90W of PD
delivered power. LTPoE++ also dramatically reduces engineering
complexity in power sourcing equipment (PSEs) and powered
devices (PDs) when compared to other power-expansion solutions.
Plug-and-play simplicity and safe, robust
power delivery are hallmarks of LTPoE++. The
capabilities of this standard expand the field of
Ethernet-powered applications by several orders
of magnitude, enabling entirely new classes
of PDs, such as power-hungry picocells, base
stations or heaters for pan-tilt-zoom cameras.
HISTORY OF PoE
Linear offers a comprehensive lineup of PoE and LTPoE++
products. The LTC®4270/71 chipset reduces PoE costs and
complexity
by replacing undesireable opto-couplers with a
Caption
simple off-the-shelf transformer. Like all LTPoE++ products, this
chipset also extends PoE delivered power to 90W.
w w w. li n ea r.com
PoE is a standard protocol for sending DC power over copper Ethernet data
wiring. The IEEE group that administers the 802.3 Ethernet data standards
added PoE capability in 2003. The original PoE spec, known as 802.3af,
allowed for 48V DC power at up to 13W. Although the initial specification
was widely popular, the 13W cap limited the number of possible applications. In 2009, the IEEE released a new standard, known as 802.3at or PoE+,
increasing the voltage and current requirements to supply 25.5W of power.
(continued on page 4)
Table 1. PSE and PD power delivery matrix shows extended power levels of LTPoE++
DEVICE
PSE
STANDARD
The IEEE PoE+ specification specifies
backward compatibility with 802.3af
PSEs and PDs. The PoE+ specification
LTPoE ++
PD
The IEEE standard also defines PoE terminology, as shown in Figure 1. A device
that provides power to the network
is known as a PSE, or power sourcing
equipment, while a device that draws
power from the network is known as
a PD, or powered device. PSEs come in
two types: endpoints (typically network
switches or routers), which send both data
and power, and midspans, which inject
power but pass data through. Midspans
are typically used to add PoE capability
to existing non-PoE networks. Typical
PD applications are IP phones, wireless
access points, security cameras, cellular
femtocells, picocells and base stations.
802.3AT
(LTPoE++, continued from page 1)
LTPoE ++
802.3AT
TYPE
TYPE 1
TYPE 2
38.7W
52.7W
70W
90W
TYPE 1
13W
13W
13W
13W
13W
13W
TYPE 2
13W
25.5W
25.5W
25.5W
25.5W
25.5W
38.7W
13W
25.5W
38.7W
38.7W
38.7W
38.7W
52.7W
13W
25.5W
—
52.7W
52.7W
52.7W
70W
13W
25.5W
—
—
70W
70W
90W
13W
25.5W
—
—
—
90W
defines Type 1 PSEs and PDs to include
PSEs and PDs delivering up 13W. Type
2 PSEs and PDs deliver up to 25.5W.
to this need, the LTPoE++ specification reliably allocates up to 90W of
delivered power to an LTPoE++ PD.
LTPoE ++ EVOLUTION
The LTPoE++ specification provides reliable
detection and classification extensions
to existing IEEE PoE protocols. LTPoE++
is backward compatible and interoperable with existing Type 1 and Type 2 PDs.
Unlike other proprietary power-extending
The IEEE PoE+ 25.5W specification had
not yet been finalized when it became
clear that there was a significant
and increasing need for more than
25.5W of delivered power. In response
Figure 1. Typical PoE system
PSE
PD
GND
RJ45
DGND
AGND
PSE
CONTROLLER
VEE
–55V
SENSE GATE OUT
RJ45
1
2
1
DATA PAIR
3
6
2
3
DATA PAIR
6
0.25Ω
4
5
4
SPARE PAIR
7
8
4 | July 2011 : LT Journal of Analog Innovation
5
7
SPARE PAIR
8
GND
RCLASS
PWRGD
PD
CONTROLLER
–VIN
–VOUT
+
DC/DC
V
CONVERTER OUT
–
design features
Figure 2. IEEE 802.3at signature
resistance ranges
RESISTANCE 0Ω
LTPoE++ PSEs and PDs seamlessly interoperate with IEEE 802.3at Type 1 and Type 2
devices. Type 1 PSEs generally encompass
802.3af functionality at and below 13W.
Type 2 PSEs extend traditional PoE to 25.5W.
The following points reference Table 1:
•Type 1 PSEs will power all Type 1, Type
2 and LTPoE++ PDs with up to 13W.
•Type 2 PSEs will power Type 1
PDs with up to 13W and provide
25.5W to Type 2 and LTPoE++ PDs.
23.75k
26.25k
19k
26.5k
33k
NON-IEEE
15k
19k
26.5k
33k
Table 2. PSE vs PD vs application power
STANDARD
802.3AT
LTPoE ++
TYPE
PSE POWER
V MAX
PSE POWER
V MIN
PD POWER
V MIN
APPLICATION
POWER*
Type 1
17.8W
15.4W
13W
11.7W
Type 2
36W
34W
25.5W
23W
Dual Type 2
72W
68W
51W
46W
38.7W
47W
43W
38.7W
34.8W
52.7W
66W
63W
52.7W
47.4W
70W
94W
89W
70W
63W
90W
133W
125W
90W
81W
*Assumes DC/DC converter efficiency of 90%
power allocation scheme violating the
IEEE-mandated detection resistance
specifications risks damaging and
destroying non-PoE Ethernet devices.
The following rules define any detection methodology for the highest levels of safety and interoperability.
•LTPoE++ PSEs interoperate with Type
1 and Type 2 PDs. LTPoE++ PDs are
powered to the designed limit of
the LTPoE++ PSE. When an LTPoE++
PD is identified, the PD will be powered up if the PSE power rating meets
or exceeds the requested PD power.
For example, a 52.7W LTPoE++ PSE can
power both 38.7W and 52.7W PDs.
•Priority 1: Don’t turn on things you
shouldn’t turn on.
LTPoE++ physical detection and classification is a simple, backward-compatible extension of existing schemes.
Other power extension protocols violate the IEEE specification, as shown
in Figure 2, and risk powering up
known noncompliant NICs. Any high
150Ω (NIC)
30k
15k
•LTPoE++ PDs can power up with limited functionality even when attached
to traditional Type 1 and 2 PSEs.
IEEE-COMPLIANT PD DETECTION
20k
PSE
PD
solutions, Linear’s LTPoE++ provides
mutual identification between the
PSE and PD. LTPoE++ PSEs can differentiate between an LTPoE++ PD and all other
types of IEEE compliant PDs, allowing
LTPoE++ PSEs to remain compliant and
interoperable with existing equipment.
10k
•Priority 2: Do turn on things you
should.
Linear Technology PSEs provide extremely
robust detection schemes utilizing fourpoint detection. False positive detections
are minimized by checking for signature resistance with both forced-current
and forced voltage measurements.
LTPoE ++ ADVANTAGES
Standard PoE PSEs use two of the four
available Ethernet cable pairs for power.
Some power-extending topologies use
two PSEs and two PDs over one cable
to deliver 2 × 25.5W power. This “dual
Type 2” topology is shown in Figure 3.
The main problem with this strategy is
that it doubles the number of components, thus doubling PSE and PD costs.
Additionally, robust design considerations
require two DC/DC converters at the PD,
one for each component PD, where each
DC/DC converter is a relatively complex
flyback or forward isolated supply.
One of the DC/DC converters in a dual
Type 2 set-up can be eliminated by
ORing the PD’s output power as shown
in Figure 4. This approach still requires
two PSEs and two PDs, with the associated cost and space disadvantages. The
voltage drop incurred by the power
ORing diodes might be considered a fair
trade-off for the savings gained by using
a single DC/DC converter. In most cases
diode ORed power sharing architectures
remain attractive until surge protection
testing begins. Due to intrinsic reductions in surge protection tolerance, these
solutions rarely meet PD design goals.
July 2011 : LT Journal of Analog Innovation | 5
The increased power capability of LTPoE++ expands
the field of ethernet-powered applications by several
orders of magnitude, enabling entirely new classes of
PDs, such as power-hungry picocells, base stations
or even heaters for pan-tilt-zoom cameras.
PSE
PD
GND
RJ45
DGND
AGND
PSE
CONTROLLER
SENSE GATE OUT
VEE
–55V
RJ45
1
2
1
DATA PAIR
3
6
2
3
DATA PAIR
6
GND
RCLASS
PWRGD
PD
CONTROLLER
–VIN
–VOUT
+
DC/DC
V
CONVERTER OUT
–
0.25Ω
GND
DGND
AGND
PSE
CONTROLLER
VEE
–55V
SENSE GATE OUT
4
5
4
SPARE PAIR
7
8
5
7
SPARE PAIR
8
GND
RCLASS
PWRGD
PD
CONTROLLER
–VIN
–VOUT
+
DC/DC
V
CONVERTER OUT
–
0.25Ω
Figure 3. The expensive way to extend PoE+ power. Dual Type 2 PD provides more power than standard PoE+ PD, but it also doubles the cost and component count.
In contrast, LTPoE++ solutions, as
shown in Figure 5, require only a single
PSE, PD and DC/DC converter, resulting in significant board space, cost
and development time advantages.
LLDP INTEROPERABILITY AND
OPTIONS
During selection and architecture of a
PoE system, many PD designers are surprised to discover the hidden costs of
Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP)
implementations. LLDP is the IEEEmandated PD software-level power
negotiation. LLDP requires extensions to standard Ethernet stacks and
can represent a significant software
6 | July 2011 : LT Journal of Analog Innovation
development effort. Unfortunately the
open-source community effort to provide LLDP support is still in its infancy.
While Type 2 PSEs may optionally implement LLDP, fully IEEE-compliant Type 2
PDs must implement both physical classification and LLDP power negotiation
capabilities. First, this places the burden of
LLDP software development on all Type 2
PDs. In addition, designs are complicated
by the dual power requirements inferred
by the LLDP requirement. Specifically, the
PD-side processor must be fully functional at the 13W power level and then
have the ability to negotiate, via LLDP, for
the delivery of additional power. Clearly
this requirement can increase development and system costs and complexity.
LTPoE++ offers LLDP implementation
options. LTPoE++ PSEs and PDs autonomously negotiate power level requirements
and capabilities at the hardware level
while remaining fully compatible with
LLDP-based solutions. In short, LTPoE++
gives system designers the choice to implement or not implement LLDP. Proprietary
end-to-end systems may choose to forgo
LLDP support. This creates time-to-market advantages while further reducing
BOM costs, board size and complexity.
design features
Linear Technology is committed to LTPoE++ technology and
provides an entire family of PSE and PD solutions. A full family
of PSEs, spanning 1- to 12-port solutions is now available.
PSE
PD
GND
RJ45
DGND
AGND
PSE
CONTROLLER
SENSE GATE OUT
VEE
–55V
RJ45
1
2
1
DATA PAIR
3
6
2
3
DATA PAIR
6
DC/DC
CONVERTER
GND
RCLASS
PWRGD
PD
CONTROLLER
–VIN
–VOUT
EN
+
VOUT
–
0.25Ω
GND
DGND
AGND
PSE
CONTROLLER
VEE
–55V
SENSE GATE OUT
4
5
4
SPARE PAIR
7
8
5
7
SPARE PAIR
8
GND
RCLASS
PWRGD
PD
CONTROLLER
–VIN
–VOUT
0.25Ω
Figure 4. Less expensive, but flawed, alternative for extending PoE+ power. This scheme is similar to the dual Type 2 set-up shown in Figure 3, but a diode ORed power
sharing architecture reduces some of the cost by eliminating one DC/DC converter in the PD. However, due to intrinsic reductions in surge protection tolerance, these
solutions rarely meet PD design goals.
POWER CLAIMS DEMYSTIFIED
PoE power paths can be divided into three
main components: the power produced
by the PSE, the power delivered to the
PD and the power delivered to the application. Claims of PSE and PD power
delivery capabilities must be carefully
examined before useful comparisons can
be made. One vendor may describe the
power as delivered by the PSE, another
the power delivered to the PD, while
the PD designer typically cares about
power consumed by the application.
Although the PSE power metric is the
least useful of the three, it is the one
most often cited in marketing materials.
PSE power is generally defined as the
power delivered at the PSE end of the
Ethernet cable. Power capability is
sometimes further distorted when vendors specify power at the maximum
rated voltage, which is rarely achieved.
PD power or “delivered power” is
the power delivered to the PD end of
the Ethernet cable, prior to the diode
bridge. Quoted PD power is a more
useful metric than PSE power, since it
must account for significant losses over
100 meters of CAT-5e cable. PD power
claims make no assumptions about
the application’s DC/DC converter and
diode bridge efficiencies, which are
unknown to PSE and PD silicon vendors.
A PD designer is most interested in the
power delivered to the application
when all system effects are considered,
including the resistance of the Ethernet
magnetics, diode bridge voltage drops
and DC/DC converter efficiency. This
metric, while the most telling, is the
most difficult to accurately specify.
Table 2 shows actual performance
comparisons at all stages of the power
path. Note that the dual Type 2 configuration delivers far less power than
the LTPoE++ 70W and 90W solutions.
July 2011 : LT Journal of Analog Innovation | 7
LTPoE++ offers a robust, end-to-end high power PoE
solution with up-front cost savings. Combined with Linear
Technology’s excellent application support, proven delivery
record and reputation for reliability, LTPoE++ is the most
comprehensive high power solution on the market.
PSE
PD
GND
RJ45
DGND
AGND
LTPoE++
PSE
CONTROLLER
VEE
–55V
SENSE GATE OUT
RJ45
1
2
1
DATA PAIR
2
3
3
6
6
DATA PAIR
PWRGD
LTPoE++
PD
CONTROLLER
0.25Ω
–VIN
4
5
DC/DC
V
CONVERTER OUT
–
–VOUT
4
SPARE PAIR
7
8
+
GND
RCLASS
5
7
SPARE PAIR
8
Figure 5. The LTPoE++ architecture is the only PoE power-extending solution that provides 90W at the PD while keeping complexity and costs in check.
PSE AVAILABILITY
CONCLUSION
Linear Technology is committed to LTPoE++
LTPoE++ offers a robust, end-to-end
high power PoE solution with up-front
cost savings. Combined with Linear
Technology’s excellent application support, proven delivery record and reputation for reliability, LTPoE++ is the most
comprehensive high power solution on
the market. LTPoE++ systems simplify
power delivery and allow system designers to concentrate their design efforts
on their high value applications. n
technology and provides an entire family of PSE and PD solutions. A full family
of PSEs, spanning 1- to 12-port solutions
is now available, shown in Table 3.
Table 3. LTPoE++ PSEs
8 | July 2011 : LT Journal of Analog Innovation
PSE PART
# PORTS
DELIVERED PD
POWER (MAX)
LTC4274A-1
1
38.7W
LTC4274A-2
1
52.7W
LTC4274A-3
1
70W
LTC4274A-4
1
90W
LTC4266A-1
4
38.7W
LTC4266A-2
4
52.7W
LTC4266A-3
4
70W
LTC4266A-4
4
90W
LTC4270A
12
38.7W–90W
(pin selected)