How do I activate PoE on a port of a Cisco Catalyst 2960-S switch?

How do I activate PoE on a port of a Cisco Catalyst 2960-S switch?

April 29, 2024
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To enable Power over Ethernet (PoE) on a port on a Cisco Catalyst 2960-S switch, which supports both IEEE 802.3af and IEEE 802.3at PoE+, you'll need to use the Cisco IOS command-line interface (CLI). Here are the step-by-step instructions to configure PoE on a specific port:

  1. Connect to the Switch:

    • Use a console cable to connect your computer to the switch, or connect through Telnet or SSH if network access is configured.

  2. Enter Global Configuration Mode:

    • After logging into the switch, enter the global configuration mode by typing: 
      enable
configure terminal

  3. Select the Interface:

    • Choose the interface (port) where you want to enable PoE. For example, if you're configuring port number 5, you would enter: 
      interface FastEthernet0/5
    • Replace FastEthernet0/5 with the actual interface identifier if different, such as GigabitEthernet1/0/5 depending on your switch model.

  4. Enable Power Inline:

    • To enable PoE on the interface, use the following command: 
      power inline auto
    • This command sets the port to automatically detect and supply power to a connected PoE device. If you know the exact power requirements, you can also specify power inline static max <wattage> where <wattage> is the power in watts that you want to allocate.

  5. Save Configuration:

    • To save the configuration and ensure it persists after a reboot, exit to the privileged EXEC mode and save your settings: 
      end
write memory
    • Alternatively, you can use copy running-config startup-config.

  6. Verify PoE Status:

    • You can check the status of PoE on the port to ensure it is enabled and operating correctly by using: 
      show power inline [interface]
    • Replace [interface] with the actual interface name if you want to check a specific port, or omit it to see all ports.

These steps should help you successfully enable PoE on your Cisco Catalyst 2960-S switch for a specific port. Make sure that the connected device supports PoE and that the total power requirements of all connected devices do not exceed the switch's power capacity.