What is a UPS?
“UPS” is short for an Uninterruptible Power Supply. These advanced power supplies protect critical computers and other equipment from surges and supply short-term power loss. Many UPS systems are configured with just enough run-time to allow the user time to safely shut down the device. Other UPS systems are configured with management cards that can shut down critical computers in the event of an extended power outage. Some UPS’s come with the ability to add extra battery packs that can keep your computer operating for hours in the event of a power outage. UPS’s come in all shapes and sizes to support nearly every imaginable computer system. We recommend only American Power Conversion UPS’s exclusively because of their value, reliability and proven track record. Every APC UPS we sell comes with surge protection, power conditioning and battery-backup protection.
Why do I need a UPS?
Protection from Lightning
When the extreme voltage from lightning enters the power grid, utility companies react by cutting off the power supply to prevent widespread damage. This is commonly described as a brownout or blackout, and can be hazardous to unprotected hard disks. When the voltage drops, hard disks may crash, erasing the stored data. Worst case scenario can be destruction of your hard disk, processor and monitor. Best case scenario is that you only lose unsaved “work-in-progress” that is stored in cache memory.
If lightning hits nearby to where your computers are operating, the surge from the over-voltage can travel through your network, cable, serial, telephone and power cables. This over-voltage can first destroy computer power supplies and modems, then computer processor chips and hard disks.
Utility Power is Unreliable
As information technology has grown and become a critical service for businesses and individuals, we as a society have become more and more reliant on common utility power. Our existing power grid was designed and installed many years ago, decades before our present information technology needs could have been imagined. As a result, the quality and availability of utility power is not up to our zero-downtime standard.
Downtime is expensive
Because of the information revolution, data has become more valuable and numerous than ever. When a web server goes down because of a surge, lost sales can be tracked by the minute. If a power surge damages a computer, the loss of data can be staggering. In the event that the data is actually recoverable, the costs of recovery can be significant.
A UPS system is cheap insurance against data loss and computer hardware damage. We are experts at what we do, and encourage you to contact us to discuss your questions about UPS systems.
