An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is a device that protects electronic equipment by providing a smooth, continuous supply of power, therefore preventing data loss and damage to equipment.
In the United Kingdom, our mains electrical power is stable the majority of the time, but there are instances when the power dips, spikes or goes completely. Fluctuating mains power is not good for computers, particularly servers, so using a UPS is very important. A UPS will prevent:
- Unexpected shutdowns of vital equipment
- Hardware damage caused by power problems
- Data loss caused when servers lose power
A UPS contains electronic filtering equipment and batteries. The filters remove harmful spikes in the supply and the batteries provide power when the mains voltage fails. The switch-over from mains power to batteries is so fast that the computers attached to the UPS don’t notice it. The computers can then be used for a short period of time until the mains power is restored or shut down cleanly to protect the hardware and data.
We normally specify UPSs manufactured by APC as we have found them to be reliable for the many customers where we have installed them and also at Vantage IT. All our equipment is supported by numerous APC UPSs and we have the added benefit of a generator that provides power for the entire building and could potentially keep us running indefinitely – enabling us to continue providing IT support when all around us are in darkness!
If you require your equipment to be protected with a UPS, please contact us to ask for details of the models suitable for your application.