Summer is a time for lots of construction and road maintenance and my neighborhood is no exception. We were notified that there would be occasional power outages during the times they work on our street and initially, I blew this notice off and quipped, “No problem as long as they give advanced notice of specified times.”
Later a client called and wanted to know what to do when the power in their building was shut off briefly during a construction phase. My answer: Shut down the server, computers, and other related devices during the power outage. I also noted that if this was to be for an extended period time it is a good idea to inform regular clients of the situation. Last weekend I received UPS, or uninterrupted power supply, failure notices via alerting software from a client with a notice that the server was to be shut down; the server stayed down the rest of the weekend. I informed my client and he went in early Monday morning and restarted the server with no problem and we continued business with no further incidents. Power outages and surges can play havoc with your server, computers and other office devices. This is why I always insist on a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) to provide surge protection and an orderly shutdown of the machine if needed.
Power outages, buildings with inadequate wiring, and lightning can result in significant power surges which can not only damage machines but can cause loss of data. Some people assume that a surge protector with a lot of Joules will suffice. There could be a discussion of how many Joules is adequate but the true advantage of surge protectors is that they are inexpensive. A UPS not only provides surge protection but in the event of a power loss it also shuts down the computer in an orderly fashion, preventing damage not only to the machine but also the operating system. Many people forget to install the UPS software and connect the UPS to the computer, which doesn’t allow the UPS to perform its alerting or shutdown functions. The significance is to use the UPS for more than just surge protection.
APC, Tripp-Lite and Belkin (surge protection wizard) are major manufacturers of UPS batteries and surge protectors with a variety of 800+ Joules surge protectors for less than $50+. APC also offers a UPS selection tool to assist in determining the right backup battery for your office. APC will also take used batteries as a trade-in toward the purchase of a new battery or UPS.
I know talking about surge protectors and backup batteries is not as exciting as your new 4G smart phone but your computer/server should last longer than your smart phone.
