A Generic Software Architecture for PoE Power Sourcing Equipment

Many hardware solutions for Power over Ethernet (PoE) Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE) exist, with slightly varying feature sets. A software solution is needed for interaction with the PSEs, and for managing a power budget across several PSEs. A generic interface is desirable, as well as generic software components that can be used in support of several PSE solutions. In this paper we present a union of features and real-time requirements for three hardware solutions, and the development of a generic software architecture.