A technician is upgrading an office network to supply both data and power to several IEEE 802.3af PoE devices that draw up to 15.4 W each and must operate at Gigabit Ethernet speeds. To avoid running new cable, which characteristic of the existing horizontal cabling should the technician confirm before deployment?
The cabling is plenum-rated Category 5 to improve fire resistance when additional electrical power is present.
The current cables have RJ11 connectors to provide telephony-based power delivery on the network.
The existing cables are Category 5e, undamaged, and no longer than 100 meters, ensuring Gigabit and 802.3af PoE support.
The installed Cat 6 shielded twisted-pair cable is required because PoE always needs STP for higher power output.
IEEE 802.3af (Type 1) PoE supplies up to 15.4 W over the same twisted-pair conductors used for data. The 1000BASE-T standard specifies operation over four-pair Category 5 or better cabling, but current TIA/EIA guidelines recommend Category 5e or higher for new or reused Gigabit links to provide additional headroom. Therefore, the technician should verify that the installed runs are at least Category 5e, undamaged, properly terminated with RJ-45 connectors, and within the 100-meter length limit. RJ11 connectors do not carry Ethernet; shielded Cat 6 is unnecessary for 15.4 W loads; plenum rating concerns fire code, not data-rate or PoE capability.
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