Cisco Aironet Power Injector
High Performance Wireless Access Points

Cisco Aironet Power Injector

The Cisco® Power Injector products increase the deployment flexibility of Cisco Aironet wireless access points and bridges by providing an alternative powering option to local power, inline power-capable multiport switches, and multiport power patch panels.

The power injector for Cisco Aironet 1100 and 1200 series access points (AIR-PWRINJ3) works with the power supply provided with the access point.

The Cisco Aironet Power Injector Media Converter (AIR-PWRINJ-FIB) converts fiber media to Category 5 media and combines the resulting data signal with power for delivery to the access point or bridge. The power injector media converter accepts 48 VDC power from either the barrel connector of the local power supply or an alternative 48 VDC power source. When powered by an alternate 48 VDC power source connected using the provided power supply pigtail, the Power Injector Media Converter is UL2043 certified and suitable for installation in environmental air spaces. The local power supply is provided with the Cisco Aironet 1100, 1130AG, 1200, 1230AG and 1240AG series access points.

Figure 1 illustrates possible deployment scenarios for the Power Injector and Power Injector Media Converter.

Figure 1. The Cisco Aironet Power Injectors Provide Inline Power to Cisco Aironet Access Points and Bridges

The power injectors provide up to 15 watts (depending on the Cisco power supply model) over the unused wire pairs of a Category 5 Ethernet cable, supplying enough power to provide for up to a 100-meter cable run.

The Cisco Aironet 1250 Series Access Point may be powered by a Cisco Ethernet switch, a power injector, or a local power supply.

The number of radio modules determines which Cisco Ethernet switch can power the Aironet 1250 Series access point. There are two scenarios:

Aironet 1250 Series Access Point with one RM1252 radio module installed
The Aironet 1250 Series Access Point with one RM1252 radio module installed requires 12.95W, which is within the 802.3af Power over Ethernet standard. Any Cisco switch supporting 802.3af may be used to power the Aironet 1250 Series Access Point with one RM1252 radio module installed.

Aironet 1250 Series Access Point with two RM1252 radio modules installed
Beginning late 2007, Cisco will enable auto-negotiating, single-port power for the Aironet 1250 Access Point on leading switches across the Catalyst portfolio. This unique, integrated solution provides the full power requirements for dual radio modules and eliminates the need to run an additional cabling drop or insert a separate power injector.

The power injector for Cisco Aironet 1250 Series Access Points (AIR-PWRINJ4) contains an integrated power supply that converts 100 to 240 volts AC into 56 volts DC and then injects this power onto the Category 5 Ethernet cable to power the access point.

Figure 2. Cisco Aironet Power Injector: Providing Inline Power to Cisco Aironet Access Points

As shown in Table 3, a Cisco Aironet Power Injector can be configured to order or can be ordered as a separate item. If the power injector is configured with the access point order, it will ship inside the packaging box of the access point. If the power injector is ordered as a spare, it will ship in a separate box.