By definition, all AVB switches must adhere to every IEEE standard within the AVB protocol. Ordinary LAN switches (managed or unmanaged) used in everyday IT applications don’t have this same requirement and do not support the protocols necessary for AVB networking.

All AVB switches are required to support the following:

• IEEE 802.1Q: Stream Reservation Protocol (SRP) and Traffic Shaping (FQTSS)
• IEEE 802.1AS: Time Synchronization using Generalized Precision Time Protocol (gPTP) on each AVB enabled Ethernet port

These standards are critical for both reservation management and tight, synchronized clocking.

The PreSonus SW5E AVB Switch with PoE is a 5-port AVB switch that is fully compatible with all PreSonus AVB devices. In addition to adhering to the required IEEE standards, the SW5E provides Power over Ethernet (PoE) on four of its five ports.

Power over Ethernet or PoE is an IEEE standard that allows electric power to be provided over the same Ethernet cable used for data transfer, similar to how Phantom Power provides enough current over an XLR cable to power condenser microphones and active direct boxes.

For example, the PreSonus EarMix 16M can be fully powered by PoE using a PreSonus SW5E switch or any other standard AVB switch that provides it. It should be noted that while the EarMix 16M can receive PoE, it does not pass that power through to other devices. So, in order to power multiple EarMix 16M, each mixer must have a direct path back to a PoE AVB Switch.

In situations where this is not possible, an external power supply may be used to power each EarMix 16M. This also allows you to daisy-chain multiple units to a single port on your AVB switch.