Electronic – Power small microcontroller from motherboard RJ45 ethernet port

ethernetlow-powerrj45

I'm wondering if it's possible to power a microcontroller (e.g. ATmega328) from a Ethernet RJ45 motherboard port. Unlike USB, there is no power line, all pins/lines seem to be data only.

I am guessing I don't have much hope?

Thanks

Best Answer

Power over Ethernet (PoE) is a standard way of powering things up to a few watts or more from an ethernet cable. You need to inject the power if your devices don't already support it. It's commonly used on things like IP telephones.

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