Netonix Forums

What are you guys using for Rack Mountable surge suppression that is safe for the Netonix Switches? I have been reading and it sounds like many surge protectors shunt to ground which will short out the Netonix and blow the port. If that's the case I am better off taking the surge to the switch and take my chances. I am looking at the APC line of Rack Mount Ethernet Surge Protectors https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009YW7U/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_2?smid=A2I4D0WO1JEMBA&psc=1. I see on Streakwave there is a company that make the ethernet modules for these racks with various types of protection from Solid State to Gas Tube and hybrid solutions but from what I have found in searching these all shunt to ground.

Here are a few of the modules I have found:

https://streakwave.com/Itemdesc.asp?ic=GIGEAPC%2DHV&o1=0

https://streakwave.com/Itemdesc.asp?ic=CAT6%2DAPC&o1=0

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ZVEBIO/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_3?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Anybody have any suggestions on something that is just fused or doesn't short out the source side of it?

99% of damage to WISP equipment is GROUND CURRENT which Ethernet Surge Protector are useless for.

I have 15 towers and been a WISP for 20+ years.

I have ZERO Ethernet surge suppressors and VERY VERY RARELY lose any equipment and when I do it is ALWAYS from someone messing with my site ground improvements.

And its not just Netonix, "any" passive POE switch on the market will fry if a short is caused.

But again no one listened to me when I started RF Armor and how import shielding was and now every manufacture is shielding the crap out of the radios and antennas.

Ethernet Surge Suppressors are more needed in office buildings because if one computer is on a bad or no electrical surge suppressor then the electrical surge goes into that device and out on to your Ethernet cable. SO if one idiot does not have enough spots in his surge suppressor and plugs his say speakers or printer direct to outlet then the surge comes in through the speakers/printers through that computer out the Ethernet cable. So in office buildings it is like practicing safe sex, cause not every idiot in every cubical or office follows the rules and you are all tied together. In WISP setups that is not the case, the WISP has control over every device.

Also ESD and static is more rare than you think, again GROUND CURRENT is the #1 cause of damage. Do your grounding right and you are fine.

Did not lose a single device this season, and in past 5 years like 2 or 3 and as I said every time was because someone messed with our grounding.

If you do feel the need to use surge suppressors with the Netonix switches, McCown Tech has a product POE-FUSE-APC which will protect the switch from the shorted surge protector.

The order to connect them is Netonix <-> POE-FUSE-APC <-> 800-GIGE-APC-HV/800-CAT6-APC <-> PoE Device.

When the surge suppressor shorts out, the fuse will blow, protecting the switch. You will have to replace both the surge suppressor and the fuse.

If you cut a powered line, the surge suppressor will usually be fine, but the fuse will blow, again, protecting the switch.


The PNETR5/PNETR6 have a design flaw and are not effective.


On a fully populated switch, expect to spend more on surge suppression than the switch this way. If you are co-locating at a site where you are required to have surge suppression on all incoming lines, I feel this is a good solution.

As posted above, the switch manufacturer does not feel surge suppressors are required if proper grounding is employed.

Omniflux wrote:The PNETR5/PNETR6 have a design flaw and are not effective.

I'm working on a site that has the PNETR5 inline with a Netonix switch. I'm aware of the issue with shorting to ground and how switchports react without a fuse inline.

Out of curiosity, what is the design flaw you mentioned with the PNETR5/R6 and do you have any more information on it?

I just spent an hour searching my email archive for this, and cannot find it. IIRC an analysis around 2012 found they do not clamp early enough and introduce cross talk, however since I cannot find any documentation on this...I may be crazy.

Do be aware that if they still have plastic jacks, then depending on the device at the far end, the cable shield may not be grounded anywhere and any ESD protection you think you may be getting, you won't be.