atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring Lightning Protection

Can a uplink to a cisco switch work going thru carbon arrestors? I have a 130ft.cat6 run underground to 5 low usage PC with low network expectations.

They do make protectors for Cat 5e wiring (maybe for Cat 6 too). But, the protector needs to be rated for the use.

However, I would never put 130' of network cable in for a customer. Fiber would be your best bet.

Try and get gas tube protection, much better. The carbon protection is a funny thing sometimes.

You probably won't find anything using carbon or gas tube protection that's rated for CAT5 and up. You will need to get a unit from someone like ITW/Linx that's designed for the purpose. These are generally four-pair units with IDC connections and the clamping voltage is far below the voltages used for voice traffic. In your case, a clamping voltage of 35 volts is much more than enough for the purpose.

Although it's already been mentioned, it's always best to run fiber whenever a network connection extends outside of one building to another. Media converters aren't very expensive and you won't need any lighning protection at all, so it will probably all come out in the wash.