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Protecting Data: UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply)

© Muhammad Ahsan

An Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is a special battery (or sometimes a generator) that supplies power to an electronic device in the event of a power failure. UPSs commonly are used with network servers to prevent a disorderly shutdown by warning users to log out. After a predetermined waiting period, the UPS software performs an orderly shutdown of the server. Many UPS units also regulate power distribution and serve as protection against power surges. Remember that a UPS generally does not provide for continued network functionality for longer than a few minutes. A UPS is not intended to keep the server running through a long power outage, but rather is designed to give the server time to do what it needs to before shutting down. This can prevent the data losses and system corruption that sometimes results from sudden shutdown.

When purchasing a UPS for a server, note that these come in many varieties. As noted earlier, the UPS is really just a battery backup. Just like a car battery, the more powerful it is, the more expensive it is. Price run from the hundreds to many thousands of dollars. Before you buy, know how many servers you will be running off the UPS and how much time they need to shutdown properly. One of the most popular UPS manufacturers is APC (American Power Conversion), a company that offers a full line of power supply and UPS products.

There is a very important point to note. There are two basic types of UPSs:

1. Inline UPS
2. Standby UPS

Today, the Inline UPS is recommended in any case. Manufacturers have stopped making the Standby UPS, because Standby UPS takes a little time (less than second) to take over the power supply to the servers. But, it is all based on risk, you may loose your data even within such short time of takeover. Inline UPS do not takeover the power since they receive power from power-source and charge themselves on the full time basis. Network runs actually on the batteries all the time. If power fails, nothing happens to the network, because network was already on the batteries.

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