Uninterrupted Power Supply or UPS is an acronym used readily in the IT industry but is not always known to those outside of the industry. A quality UPS is nearly always an item worth considering for an IT setup and in many cases is a critical requirement. The cost of a decent UPS starts as low as $200 through to thousands or tens of thousands of dollars for an enterprise-grade unit to protect entire racks of server equipment. Not surprisingly many clients query what a UPS is and ‘why do I need one?’ Especially if they are a small business or sole operator.
Those familiar with UPS devices normally understand they are a piece of electronic equipment connected to, or containing a series of batteries, that can supply power to electronic devices in the event of a power outage. However, a UPS actually fulfills a number of critical and beneficial functions:
- Power surge protection
- Smoothing/buffering noisy power sources (those that increase and decrease in supply)
- Providing power to equipment during brief power supply sags
- Providing enough power to appropriately and correctly shut down equipment during extended power outages
- Monitor the status of the supplied power
- Provide ability to restart equipment remotely after extended power outages
- Display/monitor the current/voltage draw of the connected equipment
- Report faults via alarms/notifications under certain conditions of concern
- Provide protection against short-circuiting of equipment
Obviously, the extent to which these features are provided and the capacity to do so depends on the product and the outlay.
I’m a small business I only have a couple of computers and a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device, do I really need a UPS?
Let’s take a look at a couple of real client scenarios to discuss and answer this question.
A client of GroupSupport’s had a small office setup containing a NAS. At the time of setup, the team ensured they had a UPS in place between the NAS and the power supply.
A few years later, it was recommended to the client that they either have the unit serviced, replace the batteries or replace the unit, in line with best practice around the life span of a UPS.
The client was cashflow strapped at the time of the advice and declined to take any action. (Note: replacing the device would have cost approximately $300 AUD, so not a huge outlay).
A few months later, the client had still not taken action and their office experienced a power failure. The UPS device failed to supply any power to the connected NAS as the batteries were no longer holding a sufficient charge.
As a direct result, the NAS unit lost power instantaneously. The NAS failed to shutdown properly and upon return of power could not be booted. Further investigation confirmed that the unit was ‘bricked’, meaning the internal chipset had died due to being incorrectly shutdown. This meant that the client required a new NAS unit. Whilst the HDD’s themselves were intact and their data was backed up, the exercise still cost in excess of $1500 to return to a fully functioning setup. The client of course still needed a new UPS, bringing the total outlay to nearly $2000.
The client was kicking themselves for not spending the $300 a few months earlier and really wasn’t in a position to spend $2000 but had no choice.
NAS units are well known to be at risk for this kind of failure without proper shutdown, so any IT company worth its salt won’t deploy one without a UPS. This is just one example of why a UPS can be critical.
Ok but I don’t have a NAS unit?
So, you don’t have a NAS but It’s likely you have a laptop or a desktop PC, or even a router for your Internet.
Another GroupSupport Client operates a home office in the hills. Power supply to the hills often has some ‘noise’ to it as mentioned earlier in this article. This is where the provided power feed fluctuates over time.
The client deployed his own router for Internet usage and GroupSupport provided assistance with some other IT requirements, such as the client’s desktop PC.
During the first winter for the client operating from this home office, there were a series of electrical storms and lightning strikes leading to power surges that potentially can affect the more sensitive types of electrical equipment, such as routers. The client’s $350 router died and whilst he thought this was unlucky, he replaced the unit himself and moved on.
Fast forward a year to the second winter, and electrical storms again caused the client to lose a router. This time the client spoke to GroupSupport who recommended a UPS to act as a buffer and robust surge protection for sensitive equipment. The client purchased a UPS unit large enough to run his router and desktop PC for a period of time in the event of a power outage, as well as provide protection against power surges.
Fast forward to the third year, and the worst storms yet caused power to go out in a host of suburbs, not just the hills. The client was, however, in the middle of putting the final touches on a tender for a very lucrative piece of work with a deadline in the next couple of hours. Not only did the client not lose a router that year, but landed a tender because their desktop was powered by the UPS long enough to make the final amendments, save the tender (no power would have meant no Internet, meaning it wasn’t saved to the cloud) and use mobile data on his phone to send the tender for consideration.
A UPS is a valuable piece of IT equipment. It’s not required in all circumstances (although it almost always offers benefits), but in certain situations and applications, a UPS is an essential piece of your IT infrastructure.
