CatalystTech

The Avaya Gigabit Ethernet Adapter for 4600 series IP Phones (p/n:700416985) has been a popular product lately.  The usage is a bit confusing due to a less than adequate manual that accompanies the product.  Lets review it’s purpose and how it can be implemented.

The Gigabit adapter is designed for providing Ethernet connectivity for both a 10/100 phone and a 10/100/1000 PC to the same Gigabit Ethernet switch port.  This maintains the Gigabit speeds for the PC while allowing PoE power and Fast Ethernet connectivity to the phone.  If the PC had no need of Gigabit speeds, a simple 46xxSW IP phone could pass the Ethernet connectivity through it’s embedded switch port.

Now for the more confusing part, Power Options. The adapter can serve as a Mid-Span PoE injector, or it can pull power from a PoE switch.  Just remember that PoE has a budget to consider limiting the total draw to 15.4W for Class 3 devices.  The adapter will consume a portion of this available power.

The if the adapter is to be used as a Mid-Span PoE injector, then the special power cord (p/n: 700416993) will be required.  This cord has an RJ-45 on one end and a DC barrel plug on the other.  This special cord is used to connect an 1151x1 (where x is B,C,D or the current version) power supply.  A bright red note on the package warns that this power supply can not be connected to the adapter via a standard patch cord, as it will result in a damaged adapter.

The adapter can also be powered via a standard PoE switch.  Here I used a Juniper EX4200-24t (read more) which has the first 8 ports as PoE capable.  The adapter was able to pass power to a 4625SW IP phone, and function correctly with no apparent problems on the Gigabit speed to the desktop.

The Avaya Installation Guide provides additional details.