Double check my thinking on grounding FTP CAT6

[ncfireman1918]

I’m in the process of finishing up wiring and interior walls in my shop. It’s a red iron 30x40 metal building (link in signature for poorly updated build thread). I have somewhere around 190 ft of conduit buried from the house, with pull string waiting on a cable pull. My FTP (shielded) direct burial CAT6 should be here tomorrow. Not sure when I’ll get around to pulling it. My plan is to provide a wired backbone to add a WiFi access point in the shop. I have a Google WiFi mesh network in the house right now, and have done wired points with Google WiFi before, so no worries on that part. Where I’m unsure is grounding the drain wire for the shielding on the CAT6. I am planning to punch down a keystone jack on both ends, and will use a patch cable to connect the end inside the house to a switch, the other will be a patch cable to the Google WiFi Point. I’ve never dealt with shielded cable outside a normal wiring closet/server room/patch panel config. Normally you either bond the drain wire to the chassis of the equipment rack, or bond to the shielded connector, and the ground is handled internal to the equipment (switch).

My CAT6 will be terminated in a low voltage box, on the other side of a wall stud from the electrical outlet that I’ll plug the access point into. I’m thinking that I should be good to just run a short jumper wire from the low voltage box around the stud into the electrical box, and bond it to the ground wire in the box. In theory that should take care of it, but I’m not sure if that is an acceptable way to ground the drain wire. BTW, went shielded because I didn’t plan as well as I should have, and ended up with conduit closer to the main power coming into my sub panel than I’d like. Had I been thinking, I would have brought network into a different point. Shouldn’t be a show stopper, just want to make sure my head is in the right place. Thanks!

Chris

 

[Sokoloff]

I try to always run fiber between buildings. That eliminates the issue of needing a common ground on the data side of things, because the data networks are galvanically isolated by the plastic fiber. You can buy pre-terminated fiber quite cheaply nowadays.

That said, I still have coax runs between buildings and don't take any great pains except to bond the shield wires to the IBT as usual.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

I wouldnt have bothered with STP cable. I highly doubt you would see any performance degradation without it.

Only time I have used or needed STP cable is for video.

Now you have an alternate pathway for surges and lightening between the buildings.

Do you have a 4-wire feeder between the buildings?

I would use shielded CAT6 jacks with a drain wire termination point and shielded patch cords...

 

[ncfireman1918]

Sokoloff, agreed on the fiber. I have done a lot of fiber runs over the years for work, but really didn’t feel like screwing around with transceivers and the associated extra “stuff”.

Wyliediesels- I’m only bothering with shielded cable because I’m within 6” of the feeder lines to the building (again, it was an oversight on my part). I honestly doubt that I’ll have an issue, but the FTP is not that much more expensive than unshielded cable would have been. Yes, there is a 4 wire feeder to the new building. I’m not worried about shielded patch cables, as I don’t really have any significant sources of interference outside of the actual cable run.

 

[MattT]

Now you have an alternate pathway for surges and lightening between the buildings.

I would use shielded CAT6 jacks with a drain wire termination point and shielded patch cords...

I'm thinking he should only ground the drain wire at the house jack. That should stop it becoming an alternate ground path.

 

[wssix99]

https://community.spiceworks.com/ca...p-grounding-for-shielding-on-a-cat-6a-network

Evidently there are special jacks for this type of cable: https://www.techtoolsupply.com/Shielded-EZ-RJ45-Cat5e-6-External-Ground-10pc-p/pla-100023c.htm

 

[wyliesdiesels]

https://community.spiceworks.com/ca...p-grounding-for-shielding-on-a-cat-6a-network

Evidently there are special jacks for this type of cable: https://www.techtoolsupply.com/Shielded-EZ-RJ45-Cat5e-6-External-Ground-10pc-p/pla-100023c.htm

yes the plug has an outer shield for bonding the drain wire and shield to the shielded jack. Installed them last summer at UC Merced for all their A/V equipment.

But i wouldnt use the pass-through plugs. get the regular ones.

 

[ncfireman1918]

There are connectors specifically for shielded cables. The drain wire is bonded to the metal surround on the connector, and that ends up grounding the shield to the chassis of the switch, if the switch supports it. Since this is not a typical commercial network installation, I don't have racks and other equipment bonded to ground, hence my original question. I discussed it yesterday with my electrician, who is retired from a large industrial facility where they ran shielded wire all the time, and he confirmed that my thinking is correct. Bonding the drain to the ground of the electrical system will work. Typically and network equipment is ultimately bonded to the ground of the electrical system, so I'm basically skipping a few connections. Thanks for the input guys.

 

[ncfireman1918]

yes the plug has an outer shield for bonding the drain wire and shield to the shielded jack. Installed them last summer at UC Merced for all their A/V equipment.

But i wouldnt use the pass-through plugs. get the regular ones.

Agreed there. The pass through ones are usually kind of junky. I remember learning to make patch cables when I was 16, working in a computer store. My boss came in and said that one of our manufacturing customers had requested 150 7' patch cables (no idea why that length). He asked if I knew how to make cables, and I said no. His response was that it was my lucky day. I screwed up a couple in the beginning and had to crimp the connectors again, but after the 150th, I was pretty damn good at it!

 

[ArcticGabe]

I'm thinking he should only ground the drain wire at the house jack. That should stop it becoming an alternate ground path.

Yes, I agree with this completely. Only ground one end. It will provide sufficient shielding without having to be concerned about carrying stray currents from one building to the other.

 

[ncfireman1918]

Probably should have said it in my initial post, but I’ve worked in IT for 20+ years. I’m good with the normal installation methods for shielded cable (only ground one end, shielded connectors, etc). The only point that I was unclear on was whether I could pick up the ground for one end of the drain wire in an adjacent electrical box, or if I needed to find an alternative. Thanks for all the input!