Protecting Networking Equipment | MT

Servers, and other networking equipment in a server room, are typically protected by an uninterruptible power supply (UPS).  Not only does it condition the power coming out of the wall receptacle to be more stable, a UPS also provides backup power to the equipment in the event of an actual power failure.

While data centers might have trailer-sized, diesel-powered power generating equipment that can run as long as the gas tank is full, a typical server room instead has many UPS devices sitting nearby. The size and quantity of UPS devices is related to the amount of equipment, how much power it draws and how long backup power is expected to be needed in an outage. Of course, these are estimates, and the actual run-time of the UPS equipment can vary considerably since the UPS was installed. IT departments might add more equipment over time and not expand the capability of the UPS environment accordingly. During a power outage, finding out you have less time than anticipated can result in very bad outcomes.

Make sure to periodically review your expected run-times, as this is often displayed right on the front of a decent UPS.  This will help keep your equipment running even during a power outage, or at least as long as it takes for things to shut down cleanly before the UPS runs out of power!