Mike's PBX Cookbook

Power over Ethernet

802.3af is the original PoE standard, 48VDC at up to 350mA - not to exceed 15W - originally designed to power IP telephones.
802.3at (also known as PoE+) provides up to 25.5 W of power, and prohibits Inline Power, enabling 1000 Base-T support.

Power is carried over the (Category 3, 5, 5e and 6) cabling by one of the following techniques:

The power source (not the device) decides whether Mode A or B is used. Compliant devices must support both Modes.
Avaya IP Phones support 10/100 Base-T: Mode A (2 pairs) with a PoE data switch, and/or Mode B (4 pairs) with a midspan power injector.

RJ45
Pin #
T568AT568B10/100 Base-T1000 Base-T
PairColourPairColourA-MDIA-MDIXMode BMode AMode B
1 3 whgr 2 whor Rx+ Rx+ Rx+ TxRx A+ TxRx A+
2 grwh orwh Rx- Rx- Rx- TxRx A- TxRx A-
3 2 whor 3 whor Tx+ Tx+ Tx+ TxRx B+ TxRx B+
4 1 blwh 1 blwh unused unused PWR TxRx C+ TxRx C+
5 whbl whbl TxRx C- TxRx C-
6 2 orwh 3 grwh Tx- Tx- Tx- TxRx B- TxRx B-
7 4 whbr 4 whbr unused unused PWR TxRx D+ TxRx D+
8 brwh brwh TxRx D- TxRx D-
DC 48V (+)  DC Neg (-)

Note: T568A and T568B are the two wiring standards for 4-pair data cable. The only difference is the position of the orange and green wire pairs. T568B is preferred, and should be used wherever possible. A 'crossover' cable has 568A at one end, and 568B at the other.