Systems and methods for powering a power-over-ethernet powered device using multiple power-over-ethernet sourcing devices

Systems, methods, and apparatuses are provided herein for implementing a PoE system comprising a plurality of power sourcing equipment that power a single powered device. Control circuitry may determine the power necessary to operate a powered device in a first power mode, and may cause the powered device to draw, from a first power sourcing device, to a first port of the powered device, a first wattage. The powered device may draw, from a second power sourcing device, to a second port of a powered device, a second wattage, where a sum of the first and second wattage equals the amount of power necessary to operate in the first power mode, wherein a first isolation boundary isolates the first power sourcing equipment, the first Ethernet link, and the first port, and wherein a second isolation boundary isolates the second power sourcing equipment, the second Ethernet link, and the second port.

BACKGROUND

Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) describes a technology where devices are powered through an Ethernet connection, rather than through a conventional power connection. Most Powered Devices (PD) that are powered using PoE are compliant to one of the following Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards: 802.3af, 802.3at, or 802.3bt. In some instances, it is beneficial for PDs to pull power from two or more PoE interfaces. Related art PoE systems, however, do not address PDs pulling power from multiple interfaces that are on disparate Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE).

SUMMARY

Systems, methods, and apparatuses are provided herein for implementing a Power-over-Ethernet system comprising a plurality of power sourcing equipment that power a single powered device. To this end and others, in some aspects of the disclosure, control circuitry of a powered device may determine an amount of power necessary to operate a powered device in a first power mode (e.g., 100 W). The control circuitry may cause the powered device to draw, from a first power sourcing device, to a first port of the powered device, over a first Ethernet link, a first wattage (e.g., 40 W), and may draw, from a second power sourcing device, to a second port of a powered device, over a second Ethernet link, a second wattage (e.g., 60 W). A sum of the first wattage and the second wattage may equal the amount of power necessary to operate in the first power mode. A first isolation boundary may isolate the first power sourcing equipment, the first Ethernet link, and the first port, and a second isolation boundary may isolate the second power sourcing equipment, the second Ethernet link, and the second port.

The control circuitry may determine a maximum first wattage that can be sourced from the first power sourcing device (e.g., 50 W), and may determine a maximum second wattage that can be sourced from the second power sourcing device (e.g., 80 W). The control circuitry may determine whether each of the maximum first wattage and the maximum second wattage exceed half of the amount of power necessary to operate in the first power mode. In response to determining that each of the maximum first wattage and the maximum second wattage exceed half of the amount of power necessary to operate in the first power mode, the control circuitry may assign the first wattage and the second wattage to each equal half the amount of power necessary to operate in the first power mode. For example, for load balancing purposes, the control circuitry may have a 50 W and 80 W PSE each deliver 50 W of power to a PD that requires 100 W of power.

In some embodiments, the control circuitry may determine an amount of power necessary to operate the powered device in a second power mode (e.g., a high power mode, where the first mode is a low power mode), and may determine a maximum first wattage that can be sourced from the first power sourcing device and a maximum second wattage that can be sourced from the second power sourcing device. The control circuitry may then determine whether a sum of the maximum first wattage and the maximum second wattage equals or exceeds the amount of power necessary to operate the powered device in the second power mode. In response to determining that the sum of the maximum first wattage and the maximum second wattage does not equal or exceed the amount of power necessary to operate the powered device in the second power mode, the control circuitry may cause the powered device to continue to operate in the first power mode. For example, if a PD requires 200 W to operate in a high power mode, and 100 W to operate in a low power mode, and the PSEs connected to the PD supply 50 W and 80 W of power, then the control circuitry would determine that the sum of the available power is 130 W, which is insufficient to operate the PD in a high power mode.

In response to determining that the sum of the maximum first wattage and the sum of the maximum second wattage does equal or exceed the amount of power necessary to operate the powered device in the second power mode, the control circuitry may cause the powered device to draw, from, collectively, the first power sourcing device and the second power sourcing device, the amount of power necessary to operate the powered device in the second power mode. The control circuitry may transition the powered device from the first power mode to the second power mode.

In some embodiments, while continuing to operate the powered device in the first power mode, and further in response to determining that the sum of the maximum first wattage and the maximum second wattage does not equal or exceed the amount of power necessary to operate the powered device in the second power mode, the control circuitry may determine that the powered device is additionally coupled to third power sourcing equipment by way of a third Ethernet link that couples the third power sourcing equipment and a third port of the powered device. The control circuitry may determine a maximum third wattage that can be sourced from the third power sourcing device, and may then determine whether a sum of the maximum first wattage, maximum second wattage, and maximum third wattage is less than the second amount of input wattage required to operate in the second power mode. In response to determining that the sum of the maximum first wattage, maximum second wattage, and maximum third wattage is not less than the second amount of input wattage required to operate in the second power mode, the control circuitry may cause the powered device to draw wattage from the third power sourcing device, and may transition the powered device from the first power mode to the second power mode.

The control circuitry may determine that the second Ethernet link has failed. The control circuitry may determine, in this scenario, whether the powered device requires more wattage than is available from the first power sourcing device, and, in response to determining that the powered device does not require more wattage than is available from the first power sourcing device, the control circuitry may cause the powered device to draw the amount of power necessary to operate in the first power mode from the first power sourcing device. For example, if PSE1offers 80 W of power, and PSE2offers 40 W of power, and the PD requires 80 W to operate, then in the event of a failure of PSE2, the control circuitry may draw all 80 W of power from PSE1and continue to keep the PD in an operational state.

In some embodiments, the first power mode is a low-power mode, and the powered device was operating in a high-power mode before the second Ethernet link failed. In response to determining that the powered device does require more wattage than the first wattage, the control circuitry may determine whether the low-power mode requires more wattage than the amount of power necessary to operate in the first power mode. In response to determining that the low-power mode does not require more wattage than the amount of power necessary to operate in the first power mode, the control circuitry may cause the powered device to draw an amount of wattage from the first power sourcing equipment to the powered device that is required for the powered device to operate in the low-power mode.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In some aspects of the disclosure, systems, methods, and apparatuses are described herein for enabling a PD to draw power from multiple PSEs. In order for a PD to draw power from multiple PSEs, an isolation boundary must exist between PoE input voltages and external connections. As used herein, the term “isolation boundary” is a boundary that isolates a threshold amount of voltage between PoE input voltages and any external connections, for the purpose of preventing interference with interactions of input ports and any points of non-isolation. Examples of non-isolation include connecting an input voltage rail (power or return) to frame ground, connecting power or return of redundant ports to one another, or connecting one of the input voltage rails to an output voltage (or ground). While any level of isolation is within the scope of this disclosure, as described by the IEEE 802.3af, 802.3at, and 802.3bt standards, an isolation boundary should have at least 1500V between the PoE input voltages and any external connections. An isolation boundary may be implemented using any form of insulator.

FIG. 1depicts an illustrative system implementing an isolation boundary for powering multiple PDs using multiple PSE interfaces from a same PSE, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. PSE102uses power outputs104to transmit power over Ethernet links110to input ports108of powered devices106. Isolation boundary112isolates all elements ofFIG. 1from any external connections.

FIG. 2depicts an illustrative system implementing an isolation boundary for powering a single PD using multiple PSE interfaces from a same PSE, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Similar toFIG. 1, PSE202uses power outputs204to transmit power over Ethernet links210to input ports108of powered device106. As depicted inFIG. 2, isolated power conversion occurs in the powered device before the isolation boundary. However, in many cases, it is only acceptable to merge power within isolation boundary212if power comes from a same PSE202. If power comes from two separate sources, isolation must be maintained between the separate sources, and thus the configuration ofFIG. 2would not work if power outputs204were implemented in two different PSEs.

FIG. 3depicts an illustrative system implementing an isolation boundary for powering a single PD using multiple PSEs, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. InFIG. 3, two separate power sources,302-1and302-2, respectfully power powered device306using power outputs304-1and304-2. Power is transmitted from power outputs304-1and304-2to input ports308of powered device306by way of Ethernet links310-1and310-2, respectively. Critically, two separate isolation boundaries312-1and312-2isolate the power conversion for power provided from PSE304-1and PSE304-2, respectively. This is because, when power comes from two separate sources, isolation must be maintained between them. If isolation is not maintained (e.g., due to a short circuit occurring, a cabling error, or the like), then failure can occur. Moreover, if PSEs304-1and304-2output voltages at different voltage levels, then system failure could occur if isolation boundaries312-1and/or312-2were not present.

FIG. 4depicts an illustrative powered device with control circuitry for, among other things, making power decisions, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. InFIG. 4, powered device400includes control circuitry402. Control circuitry402is configured to detect, using detection circuitry404, PoE power source capacity from PSEs (not depicted) that are operably coupled to powered device400by way of interfaces410. Interfaces410are coupled to isolated power converters406. Each interface410and isolated power converter406is isolated from each other interface410and isolated power converter406by way of isolation boundaries408.

As explained above, control circuitry402may use detection circuitry404to detect all potential input power available to powered device400from PSEs that are coupled to powered device400. Control circuitry402may then command interfaces410to draw power at different levels from the PSEs to which interfaces410are connected in order to optimize performance.

To this end, control circuitry402may detect individual PoE power source capacity from each PSE that is coupled to an interface410. Additionally, powered device400may determine a number of sources that are coupled to interface410. Each isolated power circuit (e.g., circuits within isolation boundaries408) may then share power. Control circuitry402may cause the power sharing to be performed in a manner that load balances power draw from each PSE and otherwise regulates power to powered device400. As an example of load balancing, if a PD requires 100 W, and four PSEs are connected to the PD with a maximum output of 25 W, 50 W, 75 W, and 100 W, all four PSEs may provide an equal amount of power—25 W—to the PD. As another example of load balancing, power output may be determined based on a PSE's maximum power output. For example, if there are 3 PSEs powering a 100 W device, with a maximum respective power output of 25 W, 75 W, and 100 W, the control circuitry may perform load balancing by having each PSE provide half of its maximum power (e.g., 12.5 W, 37.5 W, and 50 W) to the PD. Any form of load balancing may be commanded by the control circuitry. Power sharing may occur through any known sharing mechanism, such as droop sharing or active current sharing.

Control circuitry402may detect that a PSE connected to an interface410that powered device400is drawing power from has stopped providing power (e.g., due to disconnect, failure, or PSE configuration). Control circuitry402may responsively take action to ensure powered device400continues to draw enough power by way of interfaces410to operate.

In some embodiments, control circuitry402may take such action by determining whether powered device400can draw sufficient power from remaining PSEs to which powered device400is connected. For example, if powered device400requires 90 W to be operational, and if powered device is connected to PSE1which has a maximum output of 50 W, PSE2, which has a maximum output of 40 W, and PSE3which has a maximum output of 30 W, powered device400may be powered by drawing 30 W from each of PSE1, PSE2, and PSE3. If PSE3were to fail, control circuitry400, in response to detecting the failure, may continue to be fully operational by drawing 50 W from PSE1, and 40V from PSE2, thus resulting in powered device400drawing the requisite 90 W of power.

In some embodiments, control circuitry402may take action to ensure powered device400continues to draw enough power by way of interfaces410to operate by switching to a low power mode when a PSE failure is detected. Following from the example above, powered device400may require 90 W to operate in a high power mode, and may require 50 W to operate in a low power mode. Thus, if PSE1were to fail, powered device400may responsively switch to drawing 25 W from PSE2and from PSE3, and may thus continue to operate in low power mode by switching the amount of power powered device400draws from the PSEs that powered device400is still connected to. Similarly, if PSE1were to be detected as being again operational, control circuitry402may cause powered device400to again draw power from PSE1and transition back to high power mode.

FIG. 5depicts an illustrative flowchart of a process for using a PoE system to power a powered device by drawing power from multiple PSEs, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Process500begins at502, where control circuitry (e.g., control circuitry402) determines an amount of power necessary to operate a powered device (e.g., powered device400) in a first power mode (e.g., a low-power mode). At504, the control circuitry causes the powered device to draw, from a first power sourcing device (e.g., PSE302-1), to a first port of the powered device (e.g.,308-1), over a first Ethernet link (e.g.,310-1), a first wattage.

At506, the control circuitry causes the powered device to draw, from a second power sourcing device (e.g., PSE302-2), to a second port of a powered device (e.g.,308-2), over a second Ethernet link (e.g.,310-2), a second wattage, wherein a sum of the first wattage and the second wattage equals the amount of power necessary to operate in the first power mode, wherein a first isolation boundary (e.g.,312-1) isolates the first power sourcing equipment (e.g.,302-1), the first Ethernet link (e.g.,310-1), and the first port (e.g.,308-1), and wherein a second isolation boundary (e.g.,312-2) isolates the second power sourcing equipment (e.g.,302-2), the second Ethernet link (e.g.,310-2), and the second port (e.g.,308-2).

FIG. 6depicts an illustrative flowchart of a process for determining whether to operate a powered device in a first power mode or a second power mode based on power available from multiple PSEs that are coupled to a powered device by way of PoE links, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Process600begins at602, where control circuitry (e.g., control circuitry402) determines an amount of power necessary to operate the powered device (e.g., powered device400) in a second power mode (e.g., a high power mode). At604, the control circuitry determines a maximum first wattage that can be sourced from the first power sourcing device (e.g., PSE302-1), and determines a maximum second wattage that can be sourced from the second power sourcing device (e.g., PSE302-2).

At606, the control circuitry determines whether a sum of the maximum first wattage and the maximum second wattage equals or exceeds the amount of power necessary to operate the powered device in the second power mode. If the determination is in the negative, then process600continues to608, where the control circuitry continues to operate the powered device in the first power mode (e.g., a low power mode). If the determination is in the affirmative, then process600continues to620, where the control circuitry causes the powered device to draw, from, collectively, the first power sourcing device and the second power sourcing device, the amount of power necessary to operate the powered device in the second power mode, and at622, the control circuitry transitions the powered device from the first power mode to the second power mode.

Following from608, where the powered device is caused to operate in the first power mode (e.g., a low power mode), process600continues to610, where the control circuitry determines whether the powered device has become additionally coupled to third power sourcing equipment by way of a third Ethernet link that couples the third power sourcing equipment and a third port of the powered device. If the determination is in the negative, process600reverts to608. If the determination is in the affirmative, process600continues to612, where the control circuitry determines a maximum third wattage that can be sourced from the third power sourcing device.

At614, the control circuitry determines whether the sum of the maximum first wattage, maximum second wattage, and maximum third wattage is less than the second amount of input wattage required to operate in the second power mode. If the determination is in the negative, process600goes to616, where the control circuitry transitions the powered device from the first power mode to the second power mode (e.g., from a low power mode to a high power mode). If the determination is in the affirmative, process600continues to618, where the control circuitry causes the powered device to continue to operate in the first power mode.

The foregoing describes systems, methods, and apparatuses for configuring and implementing an environment where a PD is powered by way of multiple PSEs. The above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are presented for the purposes of illustration and not of limitation. Furthermore, the present disclosure is not limited to a particular implementation. For example, one or more steps of the methods described above may be performed in a different order (or concurrently) and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the disclosure may be implemented in hardware, such as on an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The disclosure may also be implemented in software by, for example, encoding transitory or non-transitory instructions for performing the process discussed above in one or more transitory or non-transitory computer-readable media.

While some portions of this disclosure may make reference to “convention,” or “related art,” any such reference is merely for the purpose of providing context to the invention(s) of the instant disclosure, and does not form any admission, express or implied, as to what constitutes the state of the prior art. As referred herein, the term “in response to” refers to initiated as a result of. For example, a first action being performed in response to a second action may include interstitial steps between the first action and the second action. As referred herein, the term “directly in response to” refers to caused by. For example, a first action being performed directly in response to a second action may not include interstitial steps between the first action and the second action.

While the term “wattage” is used throughout this disclosure, and examples of implementation are given in terms of “watts,” this is merely exemplary; any unit of power output may interchangeably be used in place of these terms. Similarly, while the term “voltage” is used throughout this disclosure, and examples of implementation are given in terms of “volts,” this is merely exemplary; any unit of electrical potential energy may interchangeably be used in place of these terms.

The figures referred to herein are merely exemplary, and are not limiting examples of the disclosure. For example, whileFIG. 3depicts a PD being coupled to two PSEs using two ports, any number of ports may be used to couple a PD to any number of PSEs. Similarly, inFIG. 4, any number of interfaces410may be used to connect a PD to any number of PSEs.