yung@contact.uucp (01/29/91)
josephc@nntp-server.caltech.edu (Joseph I. Chiu) writes: >brad@huey.Jpl.Nasa.GOV (Brad Hines) writes: > >>We are getting ready to buy an uninterruptible power supply for our >>network server. Please let me know your experiences, especially which ones >>to stay away from. I have heard horror stories like ups's that decide to >>deliver 80V when you plug too much into them or the like. > >SIMPLE RULE OF THUMB: Buy a UPS that is rated at LEAST for the total wattage >of power you need to supply your equipment during an outage. Usually, that >would only be the computer (Approx. 160 watts) and the monitor (varies, but >usually not more than 60 watts). 250 watts usually will "suffice". Uh..... My own experience differs a little. I just bought two UPS from UPSONIC, one is 250VA (~150Watt) and another one is 350VA (~210 watt). Both of them deliver good power to my Dell 325D (386, 14" color monitor, 80meg HD). The 250VA model can lasts for about 10 minutes during a black out while the 350VA model can last for over 20 minutes. Personally speaking, I found it to be more than enough. >When I talked to a sales-rep at Knapco (this was a few years ago), he informed >me that the ratings can usually be exceeded by an extra 10-20%, but I would >rather be on the safe side and underload the UPS. Playing on the safe side is always a good move. But the problem is always the cost. As cheap as UPS are today, they are still considered to be little luxurious by average user. If you got the extra bucks, of course you can go the extra mile to make sure everything is totally safe. But if that is not is your budget, a better estimation is necessary. >UPS's are nice - when the whole block is dark because of a power outage, it >is nice to be the only house with the living-room lights on... True. By the way, I heard that the UPSONIC ups are coming out with a software that will automatically dump all the memory to hard drive in case of a power outage, and then restore it to its exact point after the black out as if nothing ever happened. Sounds quite interesting. That IS total protection. What do you guys think of it? --Amos Yung