Notice that this device only provides protection on pins 1/2/3/6 so it would not work on gigabit ethernet. (Not a HUGE limitation, but attention to details is extremely important when dealing with lightening and surge protection.) Chuck On Fri, 2011-09-16 at 07:30 -0400, Larry DiGioia wrote: > http://www.amazon.com/Ethernet-Surge-Protector-Lightning-Arrester/dp/B003MN09DA > > On 09/15/2011 06:24 PM, Kory Pounds wrote: > > I researched surge protection myself and read about MOV's. Yes, they > > are good but they do indeed degrade as they take hits. And there are > > nicer surge protectors with indicators that show the current level of > > protection that it is providing. > > > > However, how does this protect an ethernet line? I have not seen a > > surge protector with an "ethernet in-out" along with the regular > > outlets, phone and cable protections. In the story that I gave, the > > upstairs ethernet line was hit with a surge and not the actual power > > wiring going up to that level or anywhere else. My brother's laptop > > still worked, including the wireless part of it, but the NIC went out. > > How could this have to do with a traditional surge through the power > > cable? If the surge started in my brother's laptop, then the whole > > thing would have been damaged as the surge went out of the ethernet > > port and down the line into the basement to the router. If I am > > missing something here, then please let me know! I am not an > > electrician or systems/network guy. Is it actually possible for it to > > start int hat laptop but ONLY hurt the NIC as it traveled out? If that > > isn't the case, then we are not talking about traditional surges > > through the house's wiring. > > > > If there is not a device that is specifically designed to protect from > > ethernet surges ONLY, then I am willing to buy a couple of cheap > > Netgear switches that I am seeing at Amazon.com right now. I would > > rather have that blow out than my nicer dual-band Cisco wireless > > 4-port router or someone's ethernet port in a laptop/PC. > > > > What does everything think about this? I know I am not the only one > > who wants to protect our expensive equipment from being damaged like > > this. > > > > Kory > > > > On Thu, Sep 15, 2011 at 6:07 PM, Chuck Stickelman > > <cstickelman@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > >> I want to expound on what Larry has said about surge protection. > >> You can certainly find inexpensive products that will claim to be surge > >> protectors. Avoid cheap solutions for this! (Other than Larry's > >> recommendation for sacrificial hubs, I love that one!) There are cheap > >> devices called Metal-Oxide Varistors (MOVs) that can absorb electrical > >> surges. Unfortunately, every time a MOV takes a hit it is less able to > >> provide protection, until ultimately, they die. Some manufacturers have > >> spent extra money designing LEDs that tell you when the MOV is dead and > >> the unit needs replaced, but most don't bother. (Not to mention that > >> many people would fail to check the LED status or ignore the warning...) > >> > >> Manufacturers of high quality surge protection often brag about the fact > >> that their products use no MOVs. Look for that. Also, you *may* be > >> able to tell a little about the quality of the product by the size of > >> their equipment guarantee. (The trick here would be to read the fine > >> print... and know what exclusions exist...) > >> > >> In the end though, as Larry mentioned in his first response, lightning > >> is a whole subject itself. It might not be possible to identify and > >> protect every path that lightning can take to get into your network. > >> > >> Chuck > >> > >> On Thu, 2011-09-15 at 22:28 +0100, DiGioia, Larry wrote: > >>> The answer is, there is no affordable product that will protect your > >>> equipment. > >>> > >>> A good Ethernet surge suppressor goes for $$85 and up. I have one in my > >>> outdoor transmitter shack, on the CAT5 line that goes to the top of my > >>> 110' tower, where there are multiple wi-fi panels. It also requires a > >>> good ground, meaning an RF ground - which would be copper strap attached > >>> to a 6' ground rod less than 10' away. This is probably not practical for > >>> you. > >>> > >>> My tower recently took a direct hit - destroying the panels, and a key > >>> component of my antenna rotor. But it did not make it into the house. (I > >>> also have coaxial surge suppressors, and rotor control line surge > >>> suppressors, all mounted on a solid copper bar, which is tied through > >>> that 3" copper strap, to a network of ground rods. Altogether, I have 20+ > >>> ground rods around the house...) > >>> > >>> I would recommend that you consider using sacrificial hubs - old hubs or > >>> switches at strategic points. They tend to not transfer hits to other > >>> ports, although this is not a certainty. But for 0 - $10 or so, I would > >>> say they are worth it. > >>> > >>> And there's always wi-fi... > >>> > >>> -----Original Message----- > >>> From: ncolug-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ncolug-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On > >>> Behalf Of Kory Pounds > >>> Sent: Thursday, September 15, 2011 5:06 PM > >>> To: ncolug@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > >>> Subject: [ncolug] Re: How can only the ethernet ports blow out on the > >>> wireless router??? > >>> > >>> Everyone, > >>> > >>> After reading Larry's reply, how can I protect against this? Is it > >>> even possible to protect against this? I really do not want to have to > >>> bother with unplugging ethernet cords every time we think there might > >>> be another storm. What about if we do not realize a storm is about to > >>> enter the area? > >>> > >>> Is there something that can protect an ethernet line from surges? What > >>> about utilizing some cheap hub where the long ethernet line from the > >>> second floor can plug into right before the hub plugs into the router > >>> next to it in the basement, so that the cheap hub blows out instead of > >>> the nicer, more expensive wireless router? > >>> > >>> There has to be an answer to this. What do you all make of this? Thanks, > >>> > >>> Kory > >>> > >>> On Thu, Sep 15, 2011 at 7:29 AM, Larry DiGioia<larry@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > >>>> Lightning is a whole subject in itself. As a ham radio operator, I am > >>>> quite > >>>> familiar with this, and I have also seen many episodes like your in the > >>>> workplace. > >>>> > >>>> What is happening is that the ethernet (CAT 5) wire is acting like an > >>>> antenna, picking up the lightning like a radio wave. Lightning IS in > >>>> fact, > >>>> RF. > >>>> > >>>> The results vary at different points and places because of differences in > >>>> lengths of the cable (resonances) and differences in the potential with > >>>> respect to ground of other connected equipment. NOT being plugged into AC > >>>> power would help in this case. > >>>> > >>>> You may also see ethernet ports fail later due to "degradation" as > >>>> opposed > >>>> to outright destruction. > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> On 09/14/2011 11:15 PM, Kory Pounds wrote: > >>>>> Ok everyone, > >>>>> > >>>>> This is a total weird one to me. Maybe you can help me figure out > >>>>> exactly why this happened. Let me explain: > >>>>> > >>>>> This happened during that violent storm we had during the night a > >>>>> couple of weeks ago, with plenty of lightning, etc. At some point our > >>>>> power went out for only about 15 seconds or so (and I heard a "snap" > >>>>> in the background, too). Anyhow, after the storm passed through, I > >>>>> found that the 4 ethernet ports on the wireless router (a single band > >>>>> Linksys) failed and would not work at all. However, the router still > >>>>> powered up and the wireless part still worked. I could still access > >>>>> the internet wirelessly through it. I know that it was not a power > >>>>> surge because the DSL modem was fine and both items are plugged into > >>>>> the same power backup/surge protection battery. > >>>>> > >>>>> The router and modem are in our basement. My bedroom is in the > >>>>> basement and that is where I have my laptop most of the time, with it > >>>>> plugged in by ethernet when it is there. My laptop was fine after this > >>>>> incident, no blow-outs or anything else. My laptop stayed plugged into > >>>>> the power and ethernet all during that night. I verified my laptop by > >>>>> plugging its line into the DSL modem and I accessed the internet. I > >>>>> unplugged it and I accessed it successfully by wireless as well. So I > >>>>> knew my laptop was fine and the problem was with the router. > >>>>> > >>>>> However, my brother has an ethernet line that runs from another of the > >>>>> router ports up to the second floor of the house, where he has a desk > >>>>> where he often works online with his laptop. That night his laptop was > >>>>> up there and plugged into that ethernet line. In the morning he found > >>>>> that his ethernet port/NIC card in his laptop was blown. He could only > >>>>> access the router through the laptop's wireless part. > >>>>> > >>>>> How in the world could this have happened?! Why would only the > >>>>> ethernet ports on the router be affected? Why would my brother's NIC > >>>>> be affected on the second floor and not mine in the basement? Thanks > >>>>> everyone! > >>>>> > >>>>> Kory "The Perl Guru" Pounds > >>>>> > >>>>> P.S. I ended up swapping in a nicer, dual-band Linksys router that I > >>>>> had packed away as a backup. I definitely DO NOT want some similar > >>>>> tragedy to happen to that one as well! Also, is there any sort of > >>>>> "surge protection" for ethernet lines (if it is needed at all)??? > >>>>> > >>>>> To unsubscribe send to ncolug-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' > >>>>> in > >>>>> the Subject field. > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>> -- > >>>> Studio - D Productions l o n g w i r e . c o m > >>>> > >>>> "The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook." > >>>> > >>>> William James > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> To unsubscribe send to ncolug-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in > >>>> the Subject field. > >>>> > >>>> > >>> > >>> > >> > >> To unsubscribe send to ncolug-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in > >> the Subject field. > >> > >> > > > > > To unsubscribe send to ncolug-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.