UPS Can Save Data In Disasters
While most of us think of disaster recovery as a way to restore property and structures, most businesses facing a catastrophe need to recover their most important assetsand in this computer age, those assets are often in the form of electronic data.
One of the most widespread technologies that help ensure that critical data is recoverableand that critical computer equipment is protected within limitsis the uninterruptible power supply, or UPS. In case of a power failure, a UPS supplies temporary battery power to connected systems, allowing an orderly shutdown of computers and the saving of critical files.
UPS comes in several configurations, however, and making the right choices is critical to the level of protection you will receive, experts say.
There are three basic types of UPSs, according to Michael A. Stout, engineering manager, Falcon Electric Inc., a maker of UPS based in Irwindale, Calif. The first is the offline UPS, which offers basic battery backup for computer systems.
"The problem is that it has to detect a low voltage before it goes to battery," said Mr. Stout. "On the switchover, it loses power for part of a second; theres a 50-millisecond holdup time." During that time, he explained, the computer could shut down before UPS kicks in.
"A standby [offline] UPS is a dumb box full of batteries that has a transfer switch," explained John N. West Sr., president of Power & Systems Innovations Inc., a power systems contractor based in Orlando, Fla. "Those devices are not even UL listed as a surge suppressor. Depending on the unit, you get from two minutes to 10-to-15 minutes to shut down."
Mr. West also observed that "theres not a lot of honesty on run time among manufacturers." He asserted that some manufacturers calculate run time "against the lowest draw computer you can find." In many real-life cases where an offline UPS is used, the 12-volt battery "wont last very long," he insisted.
When using a UPS, he added, "the intention is to get enough time to finish what youre doing and do an orderly shutdown." He pointed out that any Microsoft Windows-based software requires an orderly shutdown "or you may corrupt the base program." When such programs do go down, he said, "they go down ugly. You have a chance of losing the program or a little bit of data. You may have to reload the software."
Mr. West added that an offline UPS is "not compatible with an emergency generator."
Offline UPS units are priced between $50 and $150, said Mr. Stout. Both experts recommended them for home users and noncritical environments.
The second type of UPS is line interactive. If voltage goes down, a line interactive UPS will boost it, and if voltage goes over normal levels, the UPS will bring it down again, Mr. West explained. Thus, these units provide automatic voltage regulation up to a limit of 10-to-15 percent of baseline voltage.
Line interactive UPS tends to provide more surge protection, he added. Such units are recommended for protection of high-end equipment such as medical devices and expensive computers. Cost may range from $100 up to thousands. Many of these units also "dont like [emergency] generators," he noted.
According to Mr. Stout, an online UPS (also called a double-conversion UPS) is the most desirable product to purchase, in that it protects users from most problems. Power is continuous, so there is no switchover time. Other problems like "noise" (variations in power waves that can cause damage to sensitive equipment) dont get through these units, he noted.
With an online UPS, said Mr. West, "all the power is taken into the unit and turned into battery voltage, or DC power." Among the advantages of such units is the fact that many have a very wide input voltage range. The voltage regulation range is also wider.
Online UPS may range in price from $500 to $2,000, said Mr. Stout. "If youre running ultra-critical applications where you have a disaster plan, you should run an online UPS," he asserted. Citing the possibility of a terrorist-related disaster, he recommended mirrored servers and redundant UPS, perhaps even in a different city.
When shopping for a UPS, said Mr. West, "dont just look at front-end cost. Consider cost of ownership and usable life." Most of us will keep a UPS for about five years before we replace it, he noted, and an online unit "should last at least that long." Over that same time, however, a user will likely have to replace batteries in a standby unit. "A $100 UPS could cost you another $100 in three years," he pointed out.
Buyers must also consider the advantages of avoiding computer downtime, data loss and corruption of programs, he continued. "What is that worth? Data centers buy double-conversion UPS; maybe they know something other people dont. People [who buy UPS] are buying bulletproof vests Do you want to stop a bb gun or a bullet?"
Mr. West also suggested that buyers "stick with a recognized manufacturer and buy the product from someone who will also stand behind itand that doesnt mean [a consumer electronics store]. Buy from someone who is in the power protection business," he recommended. He added that buyers can often call the manufacturer for a local source that sells and services that companys products.
He emphasized the importance of doing product research and finding a reliable vendor and distributor. "This is true, especially if youre an insurance agent," he said. "With no computer, youre not working."
Further, Mr. West suggested that users plug their UPS into a good surge protector. While some UPS units provide surge protection, standalone surge suppressors are generally much less expensive than a UPS. If there is a major surge, "let the surge suppressor take the hit" instead of the more costly UPS, he said. Doing so amounts to "cheap insurance protecting your UPS."
Mr. West warned buyers never to reverse the order and plug a surge suppressor into the UPS. This will create problems and void warranties, he asserted.
When buying a UPS, make sure it comes with the software to do automatic shutdown as well as the requisite cables, said Mr. West. He pointed out that such cables may be proprietary, and thus costly.
On its Web site, Falcon Electric recommends that buyers determine the total power requirement (in watts) of all equipment that will be protected by the UPS. Such information can typically be found on the nameplate on the back of the equipment. Some manufacturers rate their equipment in terms of VA (volts X amps), but in the case of power required by your equipment, this is the same as watts, Falcon says.
Once you have determined your total power requirement, Falcon recommends adding 25-to-50 percent to allow for future growth.
When purchasing an online unit, buyers should look for good network communications capability, said Mr. Stout. "This lets you manage the UPS from any location via the Internet," he pointed out. You are notified immediately of any potential disaster on networked systems.
Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, February 20, 2004. Copyright 2004 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.
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