Surge Protection for WAN Lines
Versa Networks recommends that you use a Surge Protection Device (SPD), per IEC standard 61643-11, to protect appliances from electrical surge and spikes that can come from a copper wire. An SPD limits the voltage supplied to CPE devices attached to a DSL line by short circuiting transient energy to ground.
The key specifications of SPDs are as follows:
- The clamping voltage at which the SPD device activates
- The Joule rating of the SPD—Indicates how much energy it can absorb per surge
- The transient response time—Indicates how fast the SPD can react to lightening-induced voltage spikes
It is also recommended that you take the following precautionary measures to protect an appliance from electrical surge and spikes:
- Good earth-grounding of the appliances and racks
- Use of ESD wrist straps when installing, servicing, and interacting with any electrical equipment
To protect an equipment’s data interfaces from electrical surges and spikes, use one of the following devices to provide a safe bypass path to earth ground for transient energy.
- Tupavco TP302 - Ethernet RJ45 lightning surge protector for PoE+ Gigabit gas discharge tube for full protection
- TII Broadband Cable TV and Satellite - Coax cable lightning surge protector gas discharge tube for full protection
Figure 1: Ethernet and Broadband Connection Protection Devices
Surge Protection for Power Lines
SPDs may get damaged due to repeated surges and spikes and lose their ability to protect connected equipment from future events. It is recommended that you use one or more of the following SPDs to protect equipment power supplies from electrical surge and spike anomalies:
- 5 outlet surge protector 2100 joules, 35500 A, lns, UL1449 Let through rating 500V
- SPIKECUBE 600 joules, 6500A, lns, UL1449 Let through rating 400V
- VCT - 220V/240V AC 13A universal surge protector/power strip with 6 universal outlets. 50Hz/60Hz - 4 joules, maximum 4000 Watt capacity. Heavy duty European cord
Figure 2: Common SPDs: Power Strips with built-in surge protection
Uninterruptible Power System (UPS) offers the best protection against unpredictable power outages, blackouts, brown outs, lightning-induced surges, and spikes on power lines. UPS filters surges and spikes to protect the power supply unit (PSU) in IT equipment. There are 3 types of UPSs: standby, line interactive, and online. Online type UPSs have zero transfer time, while standby UPSs have an average of 8 milliseconds switch-over delay.
Figure 3: In Line UPS System
