It’s been a while since Power over Ethernet (PoE) has crossed my mind, which has been haunted of late by SSDs, virtualization, power management software, netbooks and the like. Essentially, PoE delivers power (and connectivity, of course) to compatible devices over the network infrastructure.

Aside from office phones and surveillance cameras, I haven’t heard much on the PoE front, which is unfortunate considering how many power bricks the technology could potentially eliminate.

Luckily, there appears to be some progress on that front. James E. Gaskin at PC World tells us:

Moving ever forward, if slowly, the standards groups are working on 802.3at, now lamely labeled "PoE Plus." What happens when they upgrade again? PoE Plus Plus?

Imagination deficient name aside, PoE Plus products should handle at least 24 watts, and some optimists say up to 60 watts. The range of supported devices will then explode, as more power via Ethernet ports meet lower power devices fighting for the "Green" label.

The upcoming standard requires better Ethernet cables, but not much. All new Ethernet cables for 15 years or more are Cat 5, compared to earlier Cat 3. Common today are Cat 5e and Cat 6. By refusing to support the really old Cat 3 cables, new PoE standards will pump more juice through regular Ethernet cables.

PCWorld's article Green PC Needs Less Juice Than a Light Bulb talks about a new British PC that seems perfect for the new PoE standard. It needs only 55 watts in use, yet includes an Intel Core2 Duo processor running at 3.0 GHz and a 1280x1024 LCD monitor. Dell's new Studio Hybrid desktop pulls about 45 watts, but you need an external monitor for that system, just like the Mac Mini.

Stay tuned...