Backup and recovery
Battery backups: why servers and network gear need one
The lights flicker for a second. Every computer in the office restarts, and the server takes an hour to come back.
1 min readExplainer
The short version
A UPS keeps equipment running through short power cuts and shuts it down safely during long ones. It protects data as well as hardware.
What a UPS does
A UPS, or uninterruptible power supply, is a battery unit that sits between the wall socket and your equipment. When the power dips or cuts out, it takes over instantly, so nothing notices.
It does three jobs:
- Rides through short outages and flickers, which are far more common than long blackouts.
- Smooths out power problems such as surges and dips that wear out equipment.
- Buys time in a long outage so servers and storage can shut down properly, instead of losing power mid-write.
Why a sudden shutdown is bad
A server or storage device that loses power while writing data can corrupt files and databases. Restarting can take a long time, and sometimes things do not come back cleanly. Network equipment that reboots takes the phones and internet down with it.
What should be on one
- Servers and network storage.
- The firewall, router and main switches, so internet and phones keep working.
- Phone system equipment, if you have it on site.
Look after it
UPS batteries wear out, typically after a few years. A UPS with a dead battery does nothing. It should be monitored, tested, and set up to tell the server to shut down when the battery runs low.
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