Patent ID: 8368250

Claim:
A system for swapping span power modules, comprising: a span line; a network interface unit (NIU) coupled to the span line; a first span power module having a first current source coupled to the span line; and a second span power module having a second current source coupled to the span line, wherein the second span power module is configured to supply power from the second current source to the span line while the first span power module is simultaneously supplying power from the first current source to the span line, and wherein the second span power module is configured to automatically disable the first span module from supplying the span line with power from the first current source after the second span power module has begun supplying the span line with power from the second current source such that the first and second power modules simultaneously supply power to the span line from the first and second current sources for a time period sufficiently small to prevent power from the first and second current sources from damaging the NIU.