Patent ID: 7774634

Claim:
In a Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) system, a system for classifying power of one or more personal computing devices, comprising: one or more personal computing devices each having a PoE control module; and a switch connected to the one or more personal computing devices, wherein the PoE control module and the switch are capable of communicating using a Layer 2 data link layer, wherein power information is communicated between the PoE control module and the switch using the Layer 2 data link layer, and wherein the switch determines a power classification for at least one personal computing device based on power requirement information it receives from the PoE control module; wherein the switch provides power supply information to the at least one personal computing device based on the at least one personal computing device's power classification; and wherein the at least one personal computing device is configured to adjust its application loads based on the power supply information received from the switch.