Hi
Apologies for dragging up a very old thread. I’ve been experiencing issues with Ethernet connections dying after prolonged operation in an electrically noisy environment, and I’m thinking maybe this is a grounding issue.
My application has isolation between the BBB and “outside” - it is powered using a 24V/5V isolated DC/DC converter to isolate from a potentially “dirty” 24 V supply which I do not control, all the digital I/O (also 24V) is fed through opto-isolators and converted to “clean” 3.3V.
The unit is in a metal enclosure, and all parts of the enclosure, and all cable shields are connected to mains ground.
Should I connect mains ground to BBB DGND (pin 1/2)? I’m concerned that it will reduce the effectiveness of my isolation efforts, since mains ground may be dealing with very large surges, and therefore may not be desirable to connect to the sensitive BBB? However, clearly leaving the DGND floating is not desirable either?
Many thanks, Aaron