I've had good luck with Oneac products, such as RJELP100. That being said, it's probably not a good idea to connect switches and/or pc's in different buildings with copper. I'd use fiber between buildings if at all possible . Differences in ground potential between buildings (especially during electrical storms) can not only wipe out a switch port or nic card, but could be lethal to the poor soul with one hand on a mouse and the other on some nearby grounded object... Regards, Keith -----Original Message----- From: owner-nanog@merit.edu [mailto:owner-nanog@merit.edu] On Behalf Of R.P. Aditya Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 4:25 PM To: nanog@merit.edu Subject: CAT5 surge/lightning strike protection recommendations? I have a bunch of cat5 buried about 1 ft below the surface connecting multiple buildings on a campus (short runs) and lightning strikes nearby have caused surges along one or more of the cables and burnt out switch ports. I would like to protect the switch ports -- there seem to be lots of products on the market. Anyone have recommendations (tested/practical is best :-)? The APC Protectnet PNET1 and PRM24 seem quite nice and not too expensive -- if they work....pros? cons? Thanks, Adi