Simple POE configuration of an HPE comware switch

16 Feb 2025 - jhunter

Introduction

Lots of network devices get their power over ethernet, rather than via a power plug.

I acquired a second hand from HPE which can supply POE to devices, with the model name ‘HP A5120-48G-PoE+ EI Switch’.

This brief blog shows how to use this switch to delivery POE to a network device.

Configuration

The HPE switch can be configured via the console port with a normal console cable.

I can enable POE from the console with these simple commands:

system-view
interface GigabitEthernet1/0/48
 poe enable

That’s it, the POE is now available. However, if you foresee you will need to do lots of POE configurations, then in my opinion it is a bit easier to use the switch’s web interface.

Enable the web console using these console commands:

system-view
int vlan 1
ip address dhcp-alloc
ip http enable
local-user james
 password simple password1
 authorization-attribute level 3
 service-type web

With this configuration I can connect an ethernet cable to my home router, and the switch gets an IP address.

I connect to the switch’s web interface using the username and password I just defined.

To enable POE on an interface:

1. On the web interface I navigate to the POE area
2. I select Port Setup.
3. I click on the interesting interface, select ‘enable’ from the options, and click on apply.

Result

Now the POE is enabled, I can power a device which requires POE, like this cisco access point.