TL;DR
A homeowner found one of his buried armoured fibre cables crumbling after three years in storage and partial installation. He attempted field repairs with self-bonding rubber and vinyl tape, but suspects inner fibres were kinked and other buried cables may also be deteriorating.
What happened
The author discovered severe physical failure of an armoured fibre cable used in a residential homelab. The cable, bought from FS.com in 2022 and stored spooled with a roughly 5 cm bend radius for about three years, began to crumble when he lifted it to free a bike pump. Sections of the outer jacket flaked away and the metal and Kevlar-like elements were exposed. This particular run had been routed under cement flooring inside PVC trunking to feed the home office where a homelab MS-A2 and a UDM were located. While SFP+ connectivity remained active, the owner reports degraded throughput and suspects internal fibre damage from kinks and sharp bending. He bought 3M self-bonding rubber electrical tape 23 and Temflex 160 vinyl tape to rebuild the jacket, but handling during repairs caused further jacket failures. He recognizes that a patch panel and replaceable LSZH patch cords would have been a safer design choice in hindsight.
Why it matters
- Buried, armoured fibre can fail unexpectedly if not installed or handled according to purpose-built practices.
- Permanent routing without accessible termination points can make repairs costly or impossible if a run is compromised.
- Armoured cables designed for direct burial may not tolerate repeated movement or tight storage bends.
- Inner fibre strands can be damaged by kinks even if some network connectivity initially remains.
Key facts
- Cable purchased from FS.com in 2022 (about 3.5 years prior to the post).
- MiLiTaRy GrAdE armoured fibre cables were chosen for underground burial.
- Cables were stored spooled at an approximate 5 cm radius for roughly three years.
- The affected run was buried in PVC trunking under cement between a shelter/server room and rooms in the flat.
- Outer jacket crumbled and exposed metal sheath and Kevlar-like threads when lifted.
- Author connected that run to a UDM to provide an SFP+ link to a homelab MS-A2.
- Speedtest-cli reported about 4000 Mbps down and 3000 Mbps up to the ISP on a 10G plan; the UDM reported different figures (around 6000/7000), indicating impairment.
- Author attempted temporary repairs using 3M self-bonding rubber electrical tape 23 and Temflex 160 vinyl tape.
- Slack of 5–10 meters intended for mobility contributed to movement and additional jacket damage during repair.
What to watch next
- Whether the remaining buried cables begin to fail in the same way (not confirmed in the source).
- Whether the temporary tape-based repairs restore full performance or a full cable replacement becomes necessary (not confirmed in the source).
- Whether the author transitions to a patch-panel-based termination and LSZH patch cords to avoid repeat issues (not confirmed in the source).
Quick glossary
- SFP+: A small form-factor pluggable transceiver standard used for high-speed network connections, commonly 10 Gbps.
- Armoured fibre cable: A fibre optic cable with an additional protective metal or composite layer intended to resist mechanical damage, often used for direct burial or harsh environments.
- Kevlar sheath: A high-strength synthetic fiber layer used in some cables to provide tensile strength and protect delicate inner fibres.
- Patch panel: A mounted hardware unit that provides centralised cable termination and easy reconfiguration or replacement via short patch cords.
- LSZH: Low-smoke, zero-halogen cable jackets designed to emit minimal toxic and corrosive gases when burned; often used indoors.
Reader FAQ
What caused the cable to fail?
The author attributes the failure to the condition and handling: the armoured cables were stored spooled tightly and then moved after long-term storage; he believes these armoured runs were not intended for repeated movement.
Is the network completely down?
No. The SFP+ connection remained functional; speedtest-cli showed roughly 4000/3000 Mbps to the ISP, though diagnostics indicate the cable is compromised.
Were the temporary repairs successful?
Not confirmed in the source; the author applied self-bonding rubber tape and vinyl tape but reported additional jacket failures during the process.
Will the other buried cables fail too?
The author suspects the remaining cables may also deteriorate based on how they felt, but this is not confirmed in the source.
My Home Fibre Network Disintegrated, Literally 2026-01-11 Homelab#rip#homelab#networking#fibre#fiber#renovation This morning I woke up and headed to my bomb shelter to grab the bike pump to inflate the tyres on my…
Sources
- My Home Fibre Network Disintegrated
- What's the #1 Cause of Fiber Network Failure?
- Identifying 8 Common Causes of Fiber Optic Cable Damage …
- Fiber Optic Cable Damage: Why It Happens & What To Do …
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