Tech Forum

I notice Cisco 881W has 4 LAN ports and label POE. Do I need to purchase a POE and plug into the 881W? Or all 4 LAN ports are POE ready so I don't need to purchase any POE units.

Thanks
Wai Lock

The Cisco 881W Integrated Services Router can include an optional Power over Ethernet (PoE) module that provides power to 802.3af-compliant devices connected to FE ports 0 and 1. The PoE module is an adapter card installed in the router and requires a 48-V external power adapter. This optional capability provides power to IP phones and external access points to avoid individual power supplies or power injectors.

Since the Church does not purchase the 881W with this optional module or the external power adapter for meetinghouse applications I am not sure how to obtain them or what the cost would be. If you feel that this is the route you want to take to provide power to access points wired to the 881W then you may need to contact LUS, or your area office if outside the US and Canada, for further information. They would also need to be involved in configuring the settings for the unit if necessary since it is remotely managed.

In the recent Meetinghouse Networking meeting held on a regional basis, it was mentioned that where PoE is needed, the FM Group would obtain a standard power injector for each line that needed to supply power via PoE to a WAP. Apparently the power injectors are a more cost-effective route to go for PoE. Since all meetinghouse networking is the responsibility of the FM Group, that's who you should contact regarding power injectors; if they agree, then they will purchase them and either install them or coordinate with the STS to install them.

Hi Guys,

Got it! Thank your for your reply.

Wai Lock

I have found that the model that supports the access point 1040 is AIR-PWRINJ AF. I hope this is correct. I found out that the Church didn't order the 881W's with the power injector option. The hard way. More money and not all buildings would need APs. The router would be enough.

I now have to wait for the power injectors to finish our first installation. It would be nice if the 881W installation instructions spelled this out.

Paul, i tend to agree. The asa5505 came with poe ports, it was natural to assume this would continue. But i looked at pricing for the 881 poe, and injectors are much cheaper.

I am jealous of those out there with fm groups that apprently can spell wireless, let alone understand what poe or a power injector is. There isn't a power on the planet that could bring meetinghouse internet uderstanding to my fm group. This is a real hole in support for meetinghouses, the personal ability of individual fm should not cause implemetations to spread out years, failure to understand, or comprehend, just limits their budgeting, which limits and lengthens implementation.

JohnShaw wrote:Paul, i tend to agree. The asa5505 came with poe ports, it was natural to assume this would continue. But i looked at pricing for the 881 poe, and injectors are much cheaper.

I am jealous of those out there with fm groups that apprently can spell wireless, let alone understand what poe or a power injector is. There isn't a power on the planet that could bring meetinghouse internet uderstanding to my fm group. This is a real hole in support for meetinghouses, the personal ability of individual fm should not cause implemetations to spread out years, failure to understand, or comprehend, just limits their budgeting, which limits and lengthens implementation.

John, don't be jealous. I must admit that my FM group doesn't know about the technology and they admit it up front. That is why I have been told that what I recommend. I'm the stake technology specialist and my occupation is doing network engineering, so I'm well versed on items.

So I tell them what I want, they check it out and give me feedback and we work together to solve an issue. I do all the technical stuff and they order what I ask them to.

Also, with regards to POE, power injectors are nice, but for me they clutter up the cabinet where the switch is. So I had our FM group purchase a switch that has POE built in. This way, I can power the WAP's off of the switch and not have more power cables and network cables to clutter up the cabinet. Also it makes thing so much simpler and in the network world, simpler is better because troubleshooting makes it easier.

So what I'm saying is use the knowledge you have in the networking arena and help your FM group know what to order to make it the best. If they don't understand, work with them. It's like any corporation, there are people who know networking and there are people who know bean counting and in a sense, the FM group, in this case, are bean counters. So we have to provide the solution and they tell me the budget for technology.

Just my two cents worth.

You seem to also have an FM group willing to spend money, mine tends to tell me that my stake budget needs to pay for this. I was very happy to see this year's developments, and have very specific direction about who pays for what, but I also think because of their lack of understanding, they fail to put enough money in for budgeting... once that happens, it is an entire year before we can move.. by then I'll be done on my own. I'm already pretty lucky, we have 4 FHC's in buildings in our stake, and 3 had the professional install of Wireless years ago... why the 4th never got done I'll never know. 2 of our other buildings are small enough that the new 881 covers the entire building well. I have 3 others that I'm getting wireless in now. That's the easy part... it's the hardwire to all the static devices (clerk computers). I also want to have a port in each building that we can plug in a 'public' wireless AP for times we bring in the public or ward members to do FH work. I'm putting a plan in place now, so hopefully we can get the wiring done next year. But I'm just installing the wireless myself at this point.

JohnShaw wrote:I also want to have a port in each building that we can plug in a 'public' wireless AP for times we bring in the public or ward members to do FH work.

From what I understand, that won't work long-term. Long term, Internet access will be via LDS Account (wired or wireless) and the wireless itself will be "open". Some things will be open without loggin in, but I haven't seen a detailed list on what that will be. But then, they'll need an account to log into FamilySearch anyway.

I've followed the planning, and understand the future direction. I don't need it for the long term, only until the future direction is realized, though I believe the complication involved will push that project far into the future. Any wired connections of this type will run parallel along an already existing need (like a clerk computer) to keep the costs minimal.