When Your Home Server Dies – a UPS Review
Here’s an obvious article for some, but it was just last year that I was not running any UPS on any of my systems….then a back to back power surge destroyed the master hard drive on my HP MediaSmart WHS. Thanks to folks in our forums, I’ve now been UPS-protected ever since, and a big APC fan! It’s just not worth the risk of running without one!
Our server consumes around 100 Watts and the APC software predicts around 25 minute running time on its battery. In our experience that will keep it up during most power cuts – a good 90% of which are of the ‘flicker’ or the off for a second or two and then back on variety. Importantly it protects the server from power surges too.
The UPS software runs on the server and communicates with the battery pack via USB (or serial). In the event of a longer power cut the software will initiate a controlled shut down or hibernation of the server before its battery runs flat – ensuring your data is safe from corruption.