[wplug] Cat5 wiring between buildings

Eric Cooper ecc at cmu.edu
Mon May 25 16:07:49 EDT 2009


I have Ethernet switches in 2 buildings connected by a long run of
Cat5 cable, running through a buried conduit.  Normally this has been
working fine, but after yesterday's thunderstorm I found that the
switch port on one end of this connection had been fried.  (The rest
of that switch was fine, as was the one on the other end of the link.)
I've had one other switch completely fail after a storm, too.

So, for any of you EEs out there: am I right in assuming that the long
run of cable picked up a voltage spike during the storm?  If so, is
there any kind of isolation or lightning protection I can use on the
inter-building link that won't cost more than simply replacing the
switch every couple of years?

-- 
Eric Cooper             e c c @ c m u . e d u


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