Your Comprehensive Server UPS Buyer&#;s Guide

Selecting the right server UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) is crucial for ensuring the continuous operation of your data center. At Joe Powell & Associates, we understand the importance of a reliable server UPS and have created this comprehensive buyer&#;s guide to help you make an informed decision.

You can find more information on our web, so please take a look.

A UPS is a limited duration power source which enables you to:

• Ride through a short power outage
• Provide time for a generator to kick in
• Allow for orderly shutdown of IT equipment
• Additionally, many UPS systems offer complete power conditioning to protect the connected equipment from power anomalies

Whether your IT equipment is in an IDF room or a large data center, a UPS is an important part of your availability, disaster recovery, and business continuity plans.

1 HR of data center downtime can cost an organization more than a half-million dollars.

The average cost of a data center outage is $740,357.

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Why Does My Data Infrastructure Need a UPS?

The impact from technology failure and downtime can be significant and far reaching: customers can&#;t place orders online, employees can&#;t work, airplanes can&#;t fly, and the reliability of your brand is at stake.

Without a UPS, power failures can cause significant business interruption:

• System failure
• Equipment damage
• Data loss
• And, for healthcare entities, potential HIPAA violations

Common Features of UPS Systems

Energy Storage Systems

Providing backup power to critical loads requires a UPS and an energy storage solution like batteries or flywheels.

Considerations of energy storage include:

• Runtime
• Power denisity
• Footprint
• Weight

• Reliability
• Cost
• Operating temperature

Energy storage solutions Include:

Batteries

• VRLA (valve-regulated lead-acid) batteries are sometimes called sealed lead-acid (SLA), gel cell, or maintenance free battery. VRLA batteries are rechargeable and are considered low-maintenance, but still require regular cleaning and testing.
• Lithium Ion Batteries are a viable alternative to VRLA technologies. Lithium-ion batteries have a significantly longer life span, require less maintenance and service, and have a much smaller footprint &#; allowing floor space to be dedicated cooling requirements, resulting in lower operating costs.
• Flywheels are a battery-less solution. They deploy kinetic energy (created by an internal rotating mass), which can be utilized to provide power. Flywheels can be connected in parallel to increase power and runtime. For those who wish to lessen their dependency on batteries, and who do not require longer runtimes, flywheels may be a better option.

Power Protection

Electricity flowing through power lines can cause irregularities such as swells, sags, spikes, and other power anomalies. In environments with voltage issues, frequently switching to battery can drain reserve power and ultimately shortens UPS battery life. Some line interactive UPS systems can detect power issues and correct them without using battery power.

Additionally, most UPS devices shield sensitive equipment from damaging power surges which may damage equipment, and cause data loss.

Monitoring Solutions

Battery Monitoring Systems

Battery monitoring systems fit inside or on top of your UPS cabinet and identify potential problems such as cell voltage, overall string voltage, current, and temperature.

If the batteries exceed set thresholds, IT managers can take the proactive action of replacing the bad battery before it affects the others in the string, or before it causes complete string failure.

Monitoring Software

Monitoring software like Trellis or SiteScan helps identify battery problems before they impact operations.

You can rely on up-to-date, comprehensive data about devices and equipment locations, current capacities and power usage to confidently implement installs and changes without compromising availability.

Power Supply

Selecting an appropriate UPS power-distribution system is essential to ensure availability of critical applications. UPS systems are categorized into two power distribution types:

Goto hbcy to know more.

Single Phase

• Supplies ample power for most smaller customers, including small, non-industrial businesses, or small IT sites
• Adequate for running motors up to about 5 horsepower; a single-phase motor draws significantly more current than the equivalent 3-phase motor

Three Phase

• Common in large businesses, as well as industries which require high-density and power
• Allows for smaller, less expensive wiring and lower voltages, making it safer and less expensive to run

UPS Topology

The types of uninterruptible power supply systems are defined by how power moves through the unit:

Standby or Off-Line System

The AC input is filtered through the unit and past the transfer switch at the output point.

When an input power failure happens, the battery and the inverter (converts the battery&#;s DC power to AC) are activated and power the output.

Ideal for:

Standby uninterruptible power supply systems are relatively low-cost and efficient, work best in applications under 2kVA, and are frequently used for personal computers and workstations.

Line-Interactive System

The inverter becomes part of the output and is always on. The inverter can operate in reverse to charge the battery while AC input is normal, and switch to battery power when input fails, which provides filtering and voltage regulation.

Ideal for:

The line-interactive UPS is a highly reliable and efficient system, and is well-suited for small business, web, and departmental servers, though it becomes impractical in applications over 5kVA.

On-Line Double Conversion

For higher voltage applications, the inverter is the primary power path instead of the AC input. Used with above 10kVA, the AC input is converted to DC power to charge the battery, and then flows through the inverter, which converts it back to AC for output.

This eliminates any spikes or dips from the input, but lowers efficiency and increases heat generation as well as wear on components.

Ideal for:

Small to large data centers, critical systems that require UPS support for entire facilities.

UPS Applications

UPS models come in a variety of specifications to provide the right fit for applications from desktop workstations to enterprise data centers. To understand the basic categories of UPS equipment, let&#;s look at some common server and desktop UPS models.

Desktop UPS

Desktop UPS models supply power to the computer and monitor in the event of a power outage. Many models are rated on the length of time they will provide battery power. Most desktop UPSs provide enough time to save work and properly shut down the CPU. Power output for desktop UPS equipment ranges from 250 VA &#; VA.

Product Highlight

LIEBERT PST5
Type: Single Phase
Topology: Double conversion
Power Capacity: 350-850VA
Input Voltage: 120V
Output Voltage: 120V
Form Design: Desktop
Backup: Flexible backup options
Ideal for: Professional workstations, small routers and bridges, point-of-sale terminals, other sensitive electronics

This is an excellent UPS. And, Tripp Lite makes great products in general. I have never had a significant problem with a Tripp Lite product, and, in fact, I have been using numerous Tripp Lite surge protectors since , and have purchased 6 additional Tripp Lite surge protectors over the past 2 years for additional applications.

[NOTE:I have added an update/addendum at the end of this review offering some hints on dealing with the burnt plastic odor that -- according to many other reviewers, and also in my own experience -- seems to be emitted by some of these UPSs -- and was emitted by my own device -- when new and first put into use.]

After having experienced numerous unexpected failures with some VA APC UPSs over the past 5 years, I finally performed extensive due diligence (i.e., research) regarding the most reliable and robust UPSs on the market today, and I recently made the decision to switch to buying only Tripp Lite UPSs for all of my new purchases of UPSs (e.g., for replacement of old UPSs that have died, and for use in new service applications).

My new Tripp Lite SMARTLCDT arrived here the other day, and I installed it immediately as the backup UPS for the router, cable modem, an external hard drive, and one of my PC monitors, and I am very impressed with this backup UPS. The high quality of design and manufacture is quite evident. It is not over-reaching to state that I simply love it!

I will note that this UPS has only four battery backup power AC outlets on the rear panel, and they are spaced quite closely together. Therefore, when installing this UPS as a replacement for an older UPS from another brand that had failed in service, I quickly discovered that there was not sufficient room among the four backup power outlets on the back panel to allow me to plug in the three "wall wart"-type AC power adapters 9one each for my router, modem and external HD) and also the plug for my monitor, due to the extra space required for the "wall wart" AC power adapters. So, I plugged one AC power adapter and the plug for my monitor into the battery backup power AC outlets on the rear panel, along with the plug for the 4 foot cable for an external power strip (the power strip has six (6) widely-spaced outlets and is NOT surge protected; it seems to be important to most of the the manufacturers (including Trip Lite) of UPSs that any external AC power strip plugged into the backup AC power outlets must NOT contain any surge protectors or radio-frequency filters (RFI filters), probably due to the high rise-time of the square waves that make up the "modified sine wave" AC output of the UPSs when they are running in battery backup power mode.

Bottom line is that I love this UPS, and it has easily passed all of my basic tests. I will add more notes, as warranted, as I accrue more experience with this UPS as the months pass.

In closing this section, I will mention that my new UPS, once it had been put into services, did start to emit a moderately-strong "new electronic device" odor, one akin to the smell of burning plastic, and in the Addendum below I will tell you how I chose to manage the odor. However, despite the fact that my new unit has been emitting this moderately-strong level of odor for the past few days, I nonetheless choose to give this UPS a full 5 stars in my review, simply because of the high quality and robustness of the unit, and its proven track record for reliability. So, it still gets 5 stars, and, in fact, I plan to purchase several more of these units over the next year or two for use in other applications.

BTW, I called Tripp Lite's Tech Support line to discuss the "new device" odor, not because I was seeking to procure a replacement unit, but because I was wondering exactly what internal components were emitting the odor, and I am expecting to hear back from one of their senior engineers within the next few days with some detailed answers to my questions. In the meantime, the low-level tech support person with whom I spoke (and who agreed to my request that he escalate my questions up the line to the engineers that designed this unit) suggested the following likely source for the odor: he reminded me that this UPS contains a rather hefty power transformer, and that these transformers are potted or sealed in an insulating compound that is similar to a varnish or plastic resin sealant. He suspected that the new transformer, once the UPS has been first put into service, heats up (this is natural, of course) and that this heating "bakes" the potting compound/sealant, and that the potting compound then emits some gases as it finishes curing or setting during the first few days or weeks that the UPS is in service

Addendum:- Managing the Burnt Plastic Odor Emitted by Some of these UPSs When New and for the First Few Days or Weeks of Use

As you have likely already noticed, a number of other reviewers have mentioned that their new units (as did mine within a few hours of having turned it on when first installed) emitted an odor similar to that of burnt plastic when first put into use, and that the odor lasted for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, or even longer; some of these reviewers had even reported the odor as having been quite strong and quite offensive to them. Now, I do want to point out that several of these reviewers who reported the offensive odor of their new UPS also acknowledged that in their experience, new UPSs from most other manufacturers also seem to emit similar odors when first put into use, and have speculated that this may be true of most new UPSs nowadays that have been made in Chinese factories. I agree with this statement that most new UPSs from most manufacturers do seem to emit a noticeable odor for at least the first few days of service.

When I first received my own unit and put it into use recently, it too started to emit a mild burnt plastic odor (the odor was most similar to the odor emitted by Bakelite plastic when drilled or cut with an electric saw) within two hours after it had been first put into service, and I was initially able to smell the odor at distances up to 4 feet from the UPS. . The odor gradually built in strength, to a moderately-strong level, over the next couple of days until, after about 3 days, I could smell it up to about 8 to 10 feet from the unit (which was sitting on the floor in my home office). However, I must state that by the end of the fourth day, the moderately-strong odor was significantly stronger than I have ever witnessed with any other brand or model of UPS, or with any other new electronic equipment (i.e., PCs, cable modems, routers, kilowatt-range DC-to-AC power inverters, kilowatt-range DC power supplies, solar charge controllers, battery chargers, etc.), and it was starting to permeate my small office area..

So, at this point I decided to so something about the odor, because it was becoming quite irritating to me. I decided to do something to remediate the odor, that is, to neutralize it. I am a consulting scientist and engineer, and it just so happens that one of my areas of specialty is remediation and neutralization of odors (in industrial settings, landfills, waterways, etc.) by natural means (i.e., using natural methods, rather than using potentially-harmful "deodorizing" sprays that, in reality, try to mask odors with various artificial perfume-type scents or floral scents). So, due to my unique background and expertise, I fortunately had lots of resources for addressing the odor emitted by the new UPS at my fingertips

So, this morning, after having decided to get rid of the odor, I opened two sealed 32 oz. packets of zeolite volcanic rock odor absorber that had been sitting in storage on a shelf in my workshop, and placed them near the UPS (I placed one just above the UPS cabinet, and the other on a desktop about two feet above the UPS and a bit to one side of it.

These 32 oz. mesh packets of zeolite volcanic rock granules are marketed widely in home improvement stores, pet stores, and also on Amazon Marketplace as "odor eliminators" or "odor absorbers" (actually, the correct technical term is "odor adsorbers", since the rock granules adsorb odor molecules), and a 32 oz. packet of the granules in a breathable mesh bag usually sells for anywhere form $6 to $10 per bag.

The way that these odor adsorbent products work is that zeolite, which is a naturally-occurring volcanic rock, is rather porous, and contains numerous fissures and honeycomb porosities in the surface of the rock granules, thus exposing a large surface area of rock to the air. And it so happens that the surfaces of zeolite exhibit a strong negative electrical charge. This negative electrical charge attracts and then adsorbs any odor or other molecules that are in the air that exhibit a positive charge, and it just so happens that the vast majority of odor molecules, including those causing the burnt plastic smell emitted by my rather new UPS, exhibit a strong positive charge.

So, these positively-charged odor molecules are attracted to the granules of zeolite, and are then adsorbed into the numerous fissures and honeycombs on the surface of the rock granules, where they remain trapped.

In my case, I emplaced the two newly-opened 32 oz. packets of zeolite odor adsorber in my office area at about 6 AM this morning, and within about three hours, the knockdown of the already-existing odor was about 90 percent. Within about 7 hours from the time of initial emplacement of the zeolite odor absorber (odor adsorber) packs, I could no longer notice the burnt plastic smell at all unless I placed my nose within a few inches of the air ventilation vents on the new UPS.

[End of Addendum section offering hints and tips about managing the "new UPS" odor.]

In closing, I want to stress once again that this noticeable odor emitted by my new UPS as it "breaks in" is not a showstopper, and it certainly would not stop me from purchasing more of these units.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit uninterruptible power supply manufacturer.