[84527] in North American Network Operators' Group
Re: CAT5 surge/lightning strike protection recommendations?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Aditya)
Wed Sep 14 15:18:55 2005
Date: Wed, 14 Sep 2005 18:44:30 +0000
From: Aditya <aditya@grot.org>
To: nanog@merit.edu
In-Reply-To: <20050913202451.GB40445@mighty.grot.org>
Errors-To: owner-nanog@merit.edu
> On Tue, 13 Sep 2005 20:24:51 +0000, "R.P. Aditya" <aditya@grot.org> said:
> I have a bunch of cat5 buried about 1 ft below the surface
> connecting multiple buildings on a campus (short runs) and lightning
> strikes nearby have caused surges along one or more of the cables
> and burnt out switch ports. I would like to protect the switch ports
> -- there seem to be lots of products on the market.
>
> Anyone have recommendations (tested/practical is best :-)?
>
> The APC Protectnet PNET1 and PRM24 seem quite nice and not too
> expensive -- if they work....pros? cons?
Thanks to everyone who replied on- and off-list.
The installation in question is in a condo development and was done by
licensed electricians and the residents were lead to believe that it
was code compliant. The cat5 cabling is double-sheathed with a
moisture barrier.
As you can well imagine, the residents are very cost-concious. My
preference is that fiber be run in conduits, however even running cat5
in grounded conduit is a big hassle as it will involve cutting across
pavement etc. (I fully appreciate the danger from potential difference
between buildings and copper being a good conducter etc., but I had to
ask a leading question in order to document the problem such that
sufficient notice would be paid by the residents -- I believe I have
that now).
The short-term solution seems to be using the APC PNET1s/Tripplite
DNET1/etc. in each unit and tying them to the water main as an
inexpensive, immediate step while funds are allocated for conduit,
labor etc..
Thanks,
Adi
