lightning

[Paul_Melson@keykertusa.com]

>Hello,
>
>a frind of mine had some serious storm two days ago with lightning and 
heavy
>rain which actually came inside her house.
>
>She lost her connection on a lightning strike. Her machines still run 
fine it
>seems but her hub is not working. The lights stayed on. So the thing was 
cheap
>and old anyhow and she bought a switch. She couldn't get it to go yet and
>wonders if lightning can affect the cat5 wiring in her house because the
>machines run fine, the server can connect via the cable modem its just 
when she
>wants to hook up any of the internal machines its problematic.
>
>So does lightning have an affect on the wiring itself?


Absolutely.  I've seen lightning do all sorts of crazy things to 
networking hardware, including melting UTP cable.  Typically it happens 
where the actual cable makes contact with the connector and it will cause 
a short between two or more of the cable strands.  Sometimes the cable can 
be saved by cutting the connector(s) and re-crimping.  Of course, if there 
was enough juice in those cables to melt them, chances are very good 
there's damage to NICs and even motherboards in the systems attached to 
her network. 

PaulM