Introduction

We recently talked about how to put Power over Ethernet (PoE) into your home and even showed you how simple it can be to get this great technology up and running with a home security system. But how does the other half live? Have you ever wondered how PoE is implemented in the enterprise? Well, if you have then we have a nice treat for you. We have had the chance to take a look at TRENDnet's TPE-80WS 8-Port Web Smart PoE Switch and see just how powerful and functional this switch is in an enterprise setting.

As with all enterprise class products, you are going to pay more for each device. However, you are also going to get a higher class of product. As enterprise products simply have to work 24/7, they need higher quality cooling, better components and better features. This is why the TPE-80WS will set you back a cool $250 U.S. Dollars, but this is not a bad price for the features and performance TRENDnet is advertising.

With the TPE-80WS you get a maximum of 15 Watts per port (120 Watts total on the device), PoE over current protection, Web Smart Management UI, Spanning Tree Protocol (802.1D), V-Lan Support, Trunking, 802.3ad Link Aggregation , 802.1p QoS (Quality of Service), Flow Control and 16GB of switching bandwidth.

Not a bad haul on paper, so let's see if the TPE-80WS can deliver in person.