While planning to upgrade the infrastructure of an office network to support Power over Ethernet (PoE) alongside data transmission, a technician is considering reusing existing cabling to reduce costs. The PoE devices need to operate on Gigabit Ethernet and require up to 15.4W of power each. Which of the following characteristics should the technician confirm the existent cabling possesses to ensure a successful deployment?
The existing cables are Cat 5e with no signs of physical damage or excessive length that would undermine their signal quality and PoE capabilities.
The existent Cat 6 cables are equipped with shielded twisted pair (STP) to enable the higher power output required for standardized PoE.
The current cables have RJ11 connectors to ensure telephony-based PoE support on the network.
The installed cables are plenum-rated Cat 5 for optimal fire retardation when deploying the additional electrical power for PoE devices.
Cat 5e cabling can handle Gigabit Ethernet connections and the power requirements for PoE up to the 802.3af standard which provides up to 15.4W of power. The cable's length, quality, and rating are factors that can affect its capacity to handle such requirements. It's important to verify there are no existing c-compromises such as cable stretch, exposed wires, or tight bends that could impair its functionality when PoE is applied. Cat 5 is not reliable for Gigabit speeds and is superseded by Cat 5e in potential power handling. Cat 6 and Cat 6a cables can also support this functionality, but the use of shielded twisted pair is not specified in the scenario and could add to complexity and cost.
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