802.11n Access Points and Power over Ethernet: Key Considerations
by the Farpoint Group
IEEE 802.11n is the only wireless-LAN (WLAN) technology that matters today. The outstanding improvements in rate, range, and price/performance now being seen in both residential/SOHO-class as well as enterprise-class products, as demonstrated by our own testing, have previously led us to conclude that the time to install .11n is now. The existence of a widely-implemented interim .11n specification from the Wi-Fi Alliance simply drops the last real barrier to adoption. A key consideration in the adoption of .11n, and the subject of this Tech Note, is whether .11n APs can be powered via IEEE 802.3af PoE. It’s one thing to upgrade Ethernet switches, but quite another if that switch or the IEEE 802.3af-compliant power injectors being used can't handle the power demands of a .11n AP.
