PoE Interface Power Down via Autonomous Fault Thresholds
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Solution Overview
Problem
In industrial network deployments, the collective power consumption of Powered Devices (PDs) can exceed the power output capacity of network devices, leading to potential downtime during power faults, and existing redundancy and rapid power down techniques are inefficient and complex, especially when dealing with multi-fault conditions and diverse power supply units.
Innovation Solution
A network device is configured to set power fault values for each Power Supply Unit (PSU) and power threshold values for each Power over Ethernet (PoE) interface, detecting faults and calculating a total power fault value to determine if power down is necessary, thereby efficiently managing power distribution without requiring software-based communication between PSU and PoE management subsystems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If redundancy and rapid power down techniques are used to manage power faults, then power distribution reliability is improved, but device complexity and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service by having each PSU autonomously provide power fault values and each PoE interface autonomously evaluate power thresholds and execute power down decisions. The distributed architecture eliminates the need for centralized software-based communication between PSU and PoE management subsystems, reducing operational complexity while maintaining reliability through autonomous fault detection and response.
2Reliability
If existing rapid power down techniques are used, then power fault response is improved, but latency and downtime increase due to software-based communication requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the software-based communication mechanism with a direct hardware-level value provision system. PSU power fault values are directly provided to PoE interfaces without software mediation, enabling faster fault detection and power down execution. This substitution of the communication mechanism eliminates software processing latency and reduces overall downtime during power faults.
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive power monitoring is implemented for all PSUs and PoE interfaces, then power management precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies segmentation by dividing power management into independent units: each PSU generates its own power fault value, and each PoE interface independently evaluates its power threshold. This segmented approach enables precise power fault detection for each component while avoiding the complexity of a centralized monitoring system, as each unit operates autonomously with minimal inter-dependency.
Data Source
AI summary
Examples described herein provide improved power down of PoE interfaces. Examples described herein may set a power fault value for each of a plurality of PSUs, and set a power threshold value for each of a plurality of PoE interfaces. Examples described herein may detect a fault that interrupts a flow of power from a subset of the PSUs to at least one of the PoE interfaces, and based on detecting the fault, for each PSU in the subset of the PSUs, add the power fault value for the PSU to a total power fault value. Examples described herein may, for each of the PoE interfaces, determine whether the total power fault value satisfies the power threshold value for the PoE interface, and based on a determination that the total power fault value satisfies the power threshold value for the PoE interface, power down the PoE interface.