[Lancaster] UPS? Recommendations?

[Simon Hobson]

jonath wrote:
>Anyway, so that got me thinking . . . uninterruptible power supply.
>
>All I'm after here is something that kill keep my Linux PC running
>long enough to automatically perform a CONTROLLED shut-down in the
>event of some kind of power outage.

First thing to remember is that a UPS is only of help (at least for power cuts) if you have the automatic shutdown connected and configured, or you happen to be around when the lights go out. Without that, it'll help for those short dropouts only.
But I wouldn't be without one for my servers.

As to make, well I don't know how they all fare for reliability. APC are common, but I think that's as much to do with them being common (so everyone knows the name) and having a big marketing budget than anything else.

As already said, they need maintenance. You need to consider batteries as consumables - under ideal conditions they may last 5 years, under "less than ideal" conditions they might not last a year. It's often said that these "dry" batteries don't fail - they are usually murdered ! High temperatures, over charging, and over discharging are what normally kills them. And of course, you'll only know if the UPS is still working by testing it periodically - many have a built in automatic function for this.

Consider what you want it for. So if, for example, you want to keep your systems running during short power cuts, then it's no good if required other kit (ADSL modem, network switch, etc) isn't run from the UPS. Add up your load, and most manufacturers have something that will allow you to select a model and load, and it'll give you an estimate of runtime - usually in the right ballpark, but consider the batteries will lose capacity with time.