1/28/2008 -- Cisco Systems Inc. last week unveiled a juicier spin on Power-over-Ethernet, which it calls enhanced Power-over-Ethernet (ePoE).

The networking giant announced new capabilities for its Catalyst 3750-E and 3560-E Series switches, with ePoE availability for Cisco's Catalyst 6500 and Catalyst 4500-E Series devices scheduled to follow in the second quarter of this year. Elsewhere, Cisco announced its new Catalyst 3560-E Series and also introduced Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) support in its Catalyst 2960 Series.

Why the big to-do about ePoE? For one thing, Cisco says, customers can use it to power their 802.11n wireless access points from a single switch port.

Analysts give Cisco a thumbs-up for fleshing out its Catalyst line with ePoE features, although they concede that Cisco's move is far from game-changing.

"[T]he new ePoE [capabilities] will help Cisco drive sales of its 802.11n access points by simplifying the problem of providing power to those particularly power-hungry access points," said Steven Schuchart, a principal analyst for enterprise network systems with consultancy Current Analysis.

The existing PoE standard doesn't have enough juice to drive an 802.11n access point at full power, Schuchart explained, so some competitive offerings require that customers deploy two standard PoE cables per access point.

Right now, Cisco is making ePoE available for its 3750-E Series and 3560-E Series devices; in Q2, officials say, ePoE will also be available for the Catalyst 4500-E Series and Catalyst 6500 Series switches.

"ePoE allows for enough PoE power to fully power Cisco's 802.11n access points in full functionality mode. This upgrade is in software and is free for existing customers with a service contract," Schuchart said.

Elsewhere, Cisco's new Catalyst 3560E-12D is a 12-port 10GB Ethernet switch with TwinGig, while the 3560E-12SD is a 1GB Ethernet switch with two 10GB Ethernet ports (also with TwinGig). Cisco also announced three new 2960 models: two new 24-port 10/100 switches, one with eight standard PoE ports and the other with 24 standard PoE ports; the third and final new deliverable is the 2960 Compact Power Device, a PoE-powered eight-port 10/100 switch.

The big takeaway, according to industry watchers, is that Cisco's infusion of ePoE capabilities across its Catalyst line helps give its 802.11n access points a competitive advantage.

"Cisco is giving itself a huge edge in convincing customers to upgrade to 802.11n access points. It is also making a persuasive argument for customers in a greenfield situation to adopt Cisco's solution for switching and WLAN to ease the deployment of power-hungry 802.11n access points," Schuchart said. "The ePoE capability is also providing considerable investment protection for many Catalyst switching customers, as the capability is free in the form of a software upgrade."

Cisco's Catalyst 3560E-12D and 3560E-12SD models are also ambitious new deliverables.

"In addition to being a slim 1U and having redundant power supplies and fans, these switches support TwinGig," Schuchart said. "TwinGig allows customers to convert a 10GB Ethernet port to two 1GB Ethernet ports by simply changing the optic, adding considerable flexibility for the customer. Cisco has also upgraded its Catalyst 2960 line with two new models that support standard PoE. This will allow smaller customers to take advantage of PoE without making the investment into Gigabit Ethernet."

On the other hand, ePoE is a proprietary Cisco spin on an existing standard.

"Cisco's new ePoE is going to draw fire from competitors and elicit some trepidation amongst customers as well. Since ePoE is a proprietary Cisco-only standard, many potential customers will shy away from it, regardless of the obvious simplification advantages it has in 802.11n installation," Schuchart predicted. "Customers remember Cisco's pre-standard power prior to the ratification of IEE 802.3af and the upgrade issues it caused early adopters." --Stephen Swoyer