Adtran Switches Now Support PoE
The Huntsville, Ala.-based vendor, known for its line of low-cost access routers, entered the switch market nearly a year ago with its NetVanta 1000 series Layer 2 managed switches and combination switch-routers.
Now the company is rolling out four new NetVanta 1224 models that support the IEEE 802.3af standard for PoE, bringing in-line power to devices such as VoIP phones, wireless access points and surveillance cameras, said Joe McClain, product manager at Adtran.
"If you're trying to put an access point in the ceiling and you don't have a power outlet there, to bring a contractor in to run power up there can [cost] several thousand dollars," McClain said.
Adtran also unveiled the NetVanta 1524ST, a stackable Layer 2 Gigabit Ethernet edge switch that includes 24 10/100/1000 ports and four Gigabit uplink ports for copper or fiber.
The new products carry price points low enough to entice small-business customers with features that previously were out of reach, said Chad Brush, senior account executive at Digital Connections, Hendersonville, Tenn.
"This is going to allow us to introduce PoE into smaller companies, and as the products come out and get more attention in the market, I think there are going to be a lot of larger companies that are also looking at Adtran," Brush said.
Small businesses are increasingly interested in PoE capabilities as they roll out VoIP to enable employees to work from home, he said.
The new PoE-enabled products provide full power to all 24 Fast Ethernet ports, a stateful inspection firewall, optional VPN functionality, and support for VLANs and Quality of Service. In addition, they include an Application Layer Gateway that supports Session Initiation Protocol, an emerging VoIP call control standard. The gateway allows SIP traffic to successfully navigate through firewalls.
The NetVanta PoE-enabled switches start at $1,795, while the PoE-enabled switch-routers are priced from $2,195. The new Gigabit Ethernet switch starts at $1,395. All are available now.