PoE Network Simple to Set Up

By DUNKERLEY, Adam

Concrete walls, long distances, lack of cabling space, and multi- level buildings pose no hurdle for the new way of networking (linking) your computer and computer devices (printers, gaming consoles, printers, etc) together. There is a new way of utilising the electrical wiring in your house or office to create the links. They refer to it as Power over Ethernet, or PoE for short.

PoE technology describes a system which can transmit electrical power, along with data, to devices over electrical wiring. The home or office’s electrical wiring enables you to move data from computer to computer.

It is simple to set-up a Power over Ethernet network. You will need to do the following:

* Purchase at least two PoE devices.

* Plug them into a wall socket that is close to the location of the computer or device you wish to have on the network.

* Run a short network cable from your computer/laptop to the PoE device.

* Follow a similar process to connect up your internet connection by cabling in your modem or router to the PoE device.

Like any network, you need to set up network security to ensure you know who is capable of sharing the information on your computers. If you live in an apartment building, then you should be aware that, your neighbour on the same electrical circuit, could purchase a PoE device and access your files.

The advantages of a PoE network are:

* There is no need to run network cables, or drill holes through the walls and floors – so no mess.

* It is faster than a wireless network connection. Advertised speeds of up to 85Mbps, compared to a wireless network that may be only close to half that.

* It has a range of up to 200 metres and its connection quality won’t be affected by thick concrete walls or multi-storeyed buildings like a wireless connection.

* You can take your PoE network with you if you move – you can’t say that about your old computer cables.

One other possible issue may arise if you are located in a building which has multiple electrical circuits.

It has been said that this may cause the connection to break if the data has to travel over different electrical circuits.

* Adam Dunkerley is general manager of Need A Nerd, a company that offers mobile technical support. They can be contacted on 0800 63 33 26 or visit the website at www.needanerd.co.nz

(c) 2008 Evening Standard; Palmerston North, New Zealand. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.