14/02/14

The Problem with Power Cuts

With
the bad weather causing havoc across the country; the risk of power
cuts is higher than ever. It’s vital you have a system in place to
protect your IT network, especially your server, in the event of a power
cut. You can do this quite simply using a piece of equipment known as a
UPS (uninterruptible power supply).

If You Don’t Protect Your Server… It Could be Serious

Power
cuts or fluctuations (i.e. when your lights flicker) cause total
failure or sudden spikes and dips in the power supply. These are not
good news for your IT system. Servers, PC’s and other IT equipment are
built to receive and operate with 230-volt AC power. While most IT
equipment can cope with some fluctuation in the power supply, significant deviations such as those happening with the current severe
storms can cause problems and seriously damage your equipment. A UPS
acts as a filter, controlling the amount of power flowing to your
equipment and protects your hardware in a number of ways:

  • against voltage spikes
  • against voltage dips
  • against frequency fluctuations
  • during a power cut, when the battery takes over and continues to supply power
2 Types of UPS: Standby or Continuous
  • A
    standby UPS runs IT equipment off the usual mains while “filtering” the
    electricity.  When it detects a problem such as a power cut, it very quickly (less than 5 milli-seconds) turns on a power-invertor and runs your equipment via its battery. Many UPS systems these days come with SMART features including: giving an indication of how long the battery can run your system for, cutting the power to idle equipment and the ability to shut down machines safely in the event of a power cut.
  • A
    continuous UPS, runs your equipment off the battery all the time. The
    battery is continuously  recharged. With this UPS there is no
    switch-over. Many UPS brands manufature equipment combining Standby and Continuous features.

A typical UPS can usually maintain and filter the power to several items of equipment. However, the more equipment it is maintaining, the faster the battery power will deplete in the event of a power cut.

Check your UPS is Working Correctly – Now!

If you already have a UPS unit installed, please double-check to ensure you are protected from power problems. 

  • Does the battery have anough power to run all the connected equipemt in the event of a power cut?
  • Is all your IT equipment correctly attached to the UPS unit?

If you would like more information about UPS system and how to integrate them into your IT network, then call us on 0808 168 5999 or email katy@networksupport solutions.co.uk.

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