The latest network hardware from Cisco Systems gives new meaning to the words “light switch.”
The Catalyst Digital Building Series Switch is an Ethernet switch designed to link different kinds of building infrastructure over a network. It will be available worldwide in the second quarter. It uses Cisco’s enhanced version of PoE (Power over Ethernet) to run things like lights and cameras while collecting data about those devices over the same standard cable.
The switch embodies the merger of IT and OT (operational technology), one of the big enterprise trends that the internet of things is driving. The line is blurring between information systems like servers and building systems like lighting, heating, and physical security. The new technology could make buildings run better. It might also help to turn IT folks and facilities experts into a bit of both.
Cisco’s new switches can power all the lights in a building by themselves. Instead of being connected to the traditional AC power grid that feeds wall sockets, the lights will run off Ethernet cables from ports in the switch.
This wasn’t possible until LED lights became affordable for use in new buildings and renovations. LEDs use far less power than incandescent or fluorescent lights, and Cisco Universal PoE can carry 60 watts, double the power of standard PoE Plus.
