NANOG Digest, Vol 43, Issue 53

Sat Aug 13 15:41:52 UTC 2011

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