On Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 11:41 AM, Greg Ihnen <os10ru...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Aug 13, 2011, at 7:23 AM, Dorn Hetzel wrote: > > > I live on a farm and I have a number of data runs between buildings that > are > > copper ethernet pulled through buried conduits. (It was what I could > afford > > when I put it in). We have trouble from time to time with damage from > > lightning. (I've taken to using an intermediate "throwaway" 5-port switch > > after the surge suppressors on the cable after building entry, but still > > stuff gets blown up now and then. The longer runs of outside ethernet > have > > one or more toadstools with small switches used as repeaters in the > middle. > > > > > > Well, I would like to convert the whole outside mess to fiber to > eliminate > > this problem, and the per-foot price of 6 or 12 strand single mode cables > is > > pretty reasonable nowadays... But, I'm not very current on the most > > economical methods for splicing and terminating the fiber, which of > course I > > would need to do on a "personal" sized budget. Any suggestions? > > > This is somewhat off topic but have you tried any ethernet surge > protectors? I use them here in the jungle with lots of lightning and it > works good if your overall install is sound. Also you have to have your > electrical ground tied to the conduit so it all stays at the same potential. > But still fiber is the way to go. You could also go wireless with a pair of > Ubiquiti Nanostation M2's > > Greg Greg, Yes, that's the part about "5-port switch after the surge suppressors on the cable after building entry". Immediately after building entry I use HyperLink HGLN-CAT6 Lightning Protectors (See: http://www.l-com.com/item.aspx?id=22171 ) Then I connect to a "throwaway" 5-port switch (whatever was on sale last time I ran out). This switch is connected to it's own throwaway UPS, which is plugged into a separate power circuit from everything else. [[[ Note: If I could find cheap enough switches with an optical interface I would be switching to optical at this point! ]]] Then I connect from the throwaway switch to the real switch. But STILL I lose ports on the real switch from time to time. So converting the outside plant to fiber is a real goal. And the fiber prices are darn reasonable nowadays for 6 or 12 strands of 9/125: (Example http://www.showmecables.com/viewItem.asp?idProduct=10493 ) But outside plant fiber was never my thing, and I have no decent idea about how to get it spliced and terminated for reasonable costs, or really even what would be reasonable. Regards, -Dorn
