shapiro@athos.rutgers.edu (Joel Shapiro) (04/20/91)
Question about UPS's and the like, for workstations: Does anyone know a) What sort of backup power does one need to keep a Sun (Sparcstation II, boxhill disks, monitor) going through the power glitches we seem to get all the time here. Seems the system draws about 6 Amps, and the devices recommended by some are around $700, and are said to be true UPS. meaning that the computer is always drawing its current from the converter, which is simultaneously recharging the batteries. There are also devices called switching battery backup devices, which switch in when the power fails. For example, a 750 watt unit from Tripp Lite (BC-750) has "2 ms synchronized transfer", costs only $429. Does anyone know if this is suitable (perhaps plugged into a surge surpressing power strip) for my purpose. It is considerably cheaper, and I have seen my Suns ignore glitches where I can see the lights dim, so perhaps 2 ms is totally negligible. On the other hand I do want to have this system work, to keep the Sun from crashing on short glitches. Does anyone understand this stuff??? Thanks Joel Shapiro, Physics