Catalyst Center - PoE vs non-PoE

[nagi0]

Hi,

It appears that Catalyst Center currently provides only Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) data.
Are there any recommended approaches to obtain energy visibility for non-PoE devices?

Thanks in advance!

[Enes Simnica]

gDay @nagi0 , and that is absolutely sick question! And U’re right, Catalyst Center (formerly DNAC) only reports PoE power usage from switches. It doesn’t measure or report energy data for non-PoE devices, since that info isn’t available through the switch.

SOOO, If u need full energy visibility, u’d need to integrate with an external energy management system or use smart PDUs / power meters that can export data via SNMP or API to your monitoring platform.

also checkthis link G: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/cloud-systems-management/network-automation-and-management/catalyst-center-assurance/2-3-7/b_cisco_catalyst_assurance_2_3_7_ug/m_monitor_power_over_ethernet.html

hope it helps and PEACE!!!!

-Enes

[nagi0]

Hi Enes, thank you so much for your reply. This is very helpful! Could EnergyWise maybe be an option to measure non-PoE devices? I understand that it is no longer supported, but I’m curious whether it can still be considered a secure method for energy management?

[Enes Simnica · Accepted solution]

hey there @nagi0 glad it helped G! and Yes, EnergyWise used to provide power data for both PoE and non-PoE devices, but since it’s deprecated, it’s no longer maintained or considered secure for modern environments. And for sure Cisco officially recommends using third-party energy management platforms or smart PDUs with SNMP/API support instead, which means that those are safer and still supported......

So, in short: EnergyWise could technically work, but it’s not a good long-term or secure solution today.

Peace!

[Joseph W. Doherty]

If a host is drawing power through PoE, the PoE power providing device can "see" and report on power usage.  Otherwise, the network is "blind" to what power a host is using. (This would also be true for stand alone in-line PoE power bricks, whose power usage isn't usually visible to the network.)

Otherwise, you need some kind of power consumption usage device reporting to the network, as further described by @Enes Simnica .

[nagi0]

Hi Joseph, that makes sense regarding PoE devices and their power reporting capabilities. I understand that non-PoE devices would require an external power consumption reporting solution, as you described. Thank you for these insights!

[Joseph W. Doherty]

. . . I understand that non-PoE devices would require an external power consumption reporting solution . . .

Or, PoE hosts, not obtaining their power via PoE device that can monitor and report power usage, like simple PoE power bricks.  (The latter weren't uncommon during the introduction of PoE.  Possibly, you might still bump into such when the network switch cannot support the wattage the PoE host wants.)