PowerDsine has launched an educational grant program that will offer $100,000 worth of Power over Ethernet midspan products to educational institutions operating in the United States and Canadian provinces.
All grants under the PowerDsine Educational Grant Program will be awarded to eligible institutions of higher learning, including state and federal universities or colleges, public and private universities or colleges and local, regional, state and federal K-12 schools. Eligible institutions based in the United States and Canada must possess an immediate need to incorporate or deploy PowerDsine Power over Ethernet (PoE) midspans for the purpose of supporting new technologies such as wireless LANs, Voice over IP (VoIP) phones or IP surveillance cameras.
Power over Ethernet midspans allow the addition of PoE capabilities to networks with existing Ethernet switches. In the case of recently purchased Ethernet switches, the midspans allow IT managers at universities and schools to connect up to PoE-ready devices, such as wireless LAN access points, VoIP phones and IP surveillance cameras, while protecting the investment in existing switches.
As plug-and-play devices, the addition of midspans is completely hassle-free with no necessary set up or configuration required, and practically no downtime. Midspans are usually installed in the wiring closet. The midspan input is connected to the Ethernet switch output, and on its output, which is connected to the powered device through the patch panel, it injects the power according to the IEEE802.3af standard.
"The deployment of the wireless network in the College of Engineering and the benefits it brings to our faculty, staff and students would not have been possible without the cost effective midspan solution from PowerDsine," says Bret Jordan, director of networking and computer services at the College of Engineering, University of Utah. "PowerDsine's
solution allowed rapid deployment of wireless access points with minimal impact to the current network infrastructure which saved the college time and money."
PowerDsine has developed four types of grants: Wireless PoE Kit, Voice over IP PoE Kit, IP Security PoE Kit and Convergence PoE Kit. All four grants are tailored to provide product support for all IEEE 802.3af-compliant, Cisco and legacy style devices that can be PoE enabled.
The Wireless PoE Kit includes hardware to support up to 144 wireless LAN access points, while the Voice over IP Kit includes hardware to support up to 144 IP phones. The IP Security PoE Kit includes support for 144 IP surveillance devices and the Convergence PoE Kit includes hardware to support a combination of 144 wireless access LAN points, IP phones, IP surveillance devices and all users that are associated with those PoE-enabled devices.
PowerDsine, based in Farmingdale, NY, manufactures Power over Ethernet technology. For more information visit www.powerdsine.com.