1746 lines
46 KiB
HTML
1746 lines
46 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
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<HTML
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><HEAD
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><TITLE
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>UPS HOWTO</TITLE
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><META
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NAME="GENERATOR"
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CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.7"></HEAD
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><BODY
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CLASS="article"
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BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"
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TEXT="#000000"
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LINK="#0000FF"
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VLINK="#840084"
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ALINK="#0000FF"
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><DIV
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CLASS="ARTICLE"
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><DIV
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CLASS="TITLEPAGE"
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><H1
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CLASS="title"
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><A
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NAME="AEN2"
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></A
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>UPS HOWTO</H1
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><DIV
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CLASS="authorgroup"
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><A
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NAME="AEN4"
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></A
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><H3
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CLASS="author"
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><A
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NAME="AEN5"
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>Eric Steven Raymond</A
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></H3
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><DIV
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CLASS="affiliation"
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><SPAN
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CLASS="orgname"
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><A
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HREF="http://www.catb.org/~esr/"
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TARGET="_top"
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>Thyrsus Enterprises</A
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><BR></SPAN
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></DIV
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><H3
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CLASS="author"
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><A
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NAME="AEN12"
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>Nick Christenson</A
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></H3
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="revhistory"
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><TABLE
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WIDTH="100%"
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BORDER="0"
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><TR
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><TH
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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VALIGN="TOP"
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COLSPAN="3"
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><B
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>Revision History</B
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></TH
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revision 2.2</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>2007-05-22</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revised by: esr</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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COLSPAN="3"
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>Minor update with more info about battery types.</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revision 2.1</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>2005-09-28</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revised by: esr</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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COLSPAN="3"
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>Link fixes.</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revision 2.0</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>2005-08-15</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revised by: esr</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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COLSPAN="3"
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>Merged in material by Nick Christenson.</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revision 1.3</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>2005-08-17</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revised by: esr</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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COLSPAN="3"
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>Fix a bad link.</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revision 1.2</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>2004-10-28</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revised by: esr</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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COLSPAN="3"
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>Remove a bad link.</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revision 1.1</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>2004-02-21</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revised by: esr</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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COLSPAN="3"
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>Add a little deployment advice, and stuff on other technologies.</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revision 1.0</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>2003-10-07</TD
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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>Revised by: esr</TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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COLSPAN="3"
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>Initial release.</TD
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></TR
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></TABLE
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></DIV
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><DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="abstract"
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><A
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NAME="AEN51"
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></A
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><P
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></P
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><P
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> An Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is an important thing to have
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if you live in an area where power outages are at all common,
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especially if you run a mail/DNS/Web server that must be up 24/7. This
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HOWTO will teach you things you need to know to select a UPS
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intelligently and make it work with your open-source operating system.
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</P
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><P
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></P
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></DIV
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></DIV
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><HR></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="TOC"
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><DL
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><DT
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><B
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>Table of Contents</B
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></DT
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><DT
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>1. <A
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HREF="#introduction"
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>Introduction</A
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></DT
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><DD
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><DL
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><DT
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>1.1. <A
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HREF="#purpose"
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>Why this document?</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>1.2. <A
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HREF="#newversions"
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>New versions of this document</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>1.3. <A
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HREF="#license"
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>License and Copyright</A
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></DT
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></DL
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></DD
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><DT
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>2. <A
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HREF="#AEN71"
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>An Overview of Power Protection</A
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></DT
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><DD
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><DL
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><DT
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>2.1. <A
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HREF="#surge"
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>Surge suppressors</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>2.2. <A
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HREF="#conditioners"
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>Line Conditioners</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>2.3. <A
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HREF="#AEN112"
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>Uninterruptible Power Supplies</A
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></DT
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></DL
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></DD
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><DT
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>3. <A
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HREF="#AEN142"
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>UPS Basics</A
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></DT
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><DD
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><DL
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><DT
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>3.1. <A
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HREF="#AEN144"
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>How To Select A UPS</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>3.2. <A
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HREF="#AEN173"
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>Deploying your UPS and other devices: the total picture</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>3.3. <A
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HREF="#AEN187"
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>Software Assistance</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>3.4. <A
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HREF="#AEN208"
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>Preparing Your System For Auto-Reboot</A
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></DT
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></DL
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></DD
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><DT
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>4. <A
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HREF="#testing"
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>Testing Your UPS</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>5. <A
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HREF="#maintaining"
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>Maintaining Your UPS</A
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></DT
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><DD
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><DL
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><DT
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>5.1. <A
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HREF="#AEN230"
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>Service contracts</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>5.2. <A
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HREF="#AEN233"
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>Extending battery life</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>5.3. <A
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HREF="#AEN236"
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>Recalibrating Your UPS</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>5.4. <A
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HREF="#AEN241"
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>Replacing Your Batteries</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>5.5. <A
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|
HREF="#AEN254"
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>Buying Batteries</A
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></DT
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></DL
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></DD
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><DT
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>6. <A
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HREF="#AEN266"
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>Vendor information</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>7. <A
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HREF="#AEN381"
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|
>Bibliography</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>8. <A
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HREF="#AEN391"
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>Acknowledgements and Related Resources</A
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></DT
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></DL
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect1"
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><H1
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CLASS="sect1"
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><A
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NAME="introduction"
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></A
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>1. Introduction</H1
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="purpose"
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></A
|
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>1.1. Why this document?</H2
|
|
><P
|
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>An Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is an important thing to
|
|
have if you live in an area where power outages are at all common,
|
|
especially if you run a mail/DNS/Web server that must be up 24/7. The
|
|
aging power grid in the U.S. has made this a more urgent issue than it
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used to be even for American hackers, but everyone is vulnerable to
|
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outages caused by storms and other natural phenomena. This document
|
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covers both the software and hardware aspects of protecting
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yourself.</P
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><P
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|
>The advice in this document is aimed primarily at small
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installations — one computer and one UPS. Thus we'll focus on
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consumer-grade UPSes, especially those designed for home and
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small-business use. If you are a data center administrator running a
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big server farm, there is a whole different (and much more expensive)
|
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range of technologies we'll do no more than hint at here.</P
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|
><P
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|
>The people who contribute to this document can speak only about
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equipment they have experience with. This may reflect a bias toward or
|
|
against certain brands, features, functions, etc. Please keep in mind that
|
|
the suggestions, brand names and functions here are by no means exhaustive,
|
|
or even necessarily applicable to your situation. Also, if you have
|
|
information that is not in this document, please submit it to the
|
|
maintainer listed above. If you submit information, please say whether
|
|
you'd like it to be attributed to you or not. We are more than glad to give
|
|
credit to the fine people who helped with this document, but we want to
|
|
respect the anonymity of those people who would prefer it.</P
|
|
></DIV
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><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
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><HR><H2
|
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CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="newversions"
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></A
|
|
>1.2. New versions of this document</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>You can also view the latest version of this HOWTO on the World Wide Web
|
|
via the URL <A
|
|
HREF="http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/UPS-HOWTO.html"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
> http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/UPS-HOWTO.html</A
|
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>.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><HR><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="license"
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></A
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>1.3. License and Copyright</H2
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><P
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|
>Copyright (c) 2003,2006 Eric S. Raymond.</P
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><P
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>Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
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|
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
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|
or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
|
|
with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
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A copy of the license is located at <A
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|
HREF="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
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>www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html</A
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>.</P
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><P
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|
>Feel free to mail any questions or comments about this HOWTO to Eric
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|
S. Raymond, <TT
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CLASS="email"
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><<A
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HREF="mailto:esr@snark.thyrsus.com"
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>esr@snark.thyrsus.com</A
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|
>></TT
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>. But please don't ask me
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to troubleshoot your general UPS problems; if you do, I'll just
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ignore you.</P
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></DIV
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect1"
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><HR><H1
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CLASS="sect1"
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><A
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NAME="AEN71"
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></A
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|
>2. An Overview of Power Protection</H1
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><P
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>Power protection guards your equipment against blackouts,
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brownouts, surges, and spikes. All these events are anomalies in the flow
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of mains power that can damage your electronic equipment.</P
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><P
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|
>A <EM
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>blackout</EM
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> is a complete interruption of
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power; some literature considers a voltage drop below about 80V to be a
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blackout as well since most equipment will not operate below that
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level.</P
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><P
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>A <EM
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>dropout</EM
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> is a very short (less than one second)
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blackout.</P
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|
><P
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|
>A <EM
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|
>brownout</EM
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> or <EM
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|
>sag</EM
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> is a
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decrease in voltage levels which can last for periods ranging from
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fractions of a second to hours. This can be caused by heavy equipment coming on
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line such as shop tools, elevators, compressors etc. Also occurs when
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utility companies deliberately do this to cope with peak load times.</P
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|
><P
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|
>A <EM
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|
>spike</EM
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> is a tremendous increase in voltage over
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a very short period of time often caused by a direct lightning strike on a
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power line or when power returns after a blackout.</P
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|
><P
|
|
>A <EM
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|
>surge</EM
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> is a substantial increase in voltage
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lasting a small fraction of a second, often caused when high powered
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appliances such as air conditioners are switched off.</P
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|
><P
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|
>There are three levels of power protection available to the
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home computer user. The levels are:</P
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|
><P
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|
></P
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|
><OL
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|
TYPE="1"
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><LI
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|
><P
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|
>Surge Suppressor</P
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></LI
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|
><LI
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|
><P
|
|
>Line Conditioners</P
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|
></LI
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|
><LI
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|
><P
|
|
>Uninterruptible Power Supplies</P
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|
></LI
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|
></OL
|
|
><P
|
|
>While this HOWTO mainly focuses on UPSs, we'll start with some basics
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about the other two kinds of power filtering to help you understand where
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UPSes fit in. This is useful even though plummeting UPS prices have made
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the low-end alternatives less interesting than they used to be.</P
|
|
><DIV
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|
CLASS="sect2"
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|
><HR><H2
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|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
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|
NAME="surge"
|
|
></A
|
|
>2.1. Surge suppressors</H2
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|
><P
|
|
>These are basically a fancy fuse between the source and your
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hardware; they clamp down spikes, but can't fill in a low voltage
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level or dropout.</P
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|
><P
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|
>This is a bare minimum level of protection that any piece of
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expensive electronics should have. Note that this applies to more
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than just AC power; surge suppressors are available for (and should be
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used on) phone lines, and RS-232 and parallel connections (for use on
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long lines; generally not needed if the devices are colocated with the
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computer and all devices are protected from outside sources). Note
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|
also that <EM
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|
>all</EM
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|
> devices connected to your computer
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need to be protected; if you put a surge suppressor on your computer
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but not your printer, then a zap on the printer may take out the
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|
computer, too.</P
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|
><P
|
|
>An important fact about surge suppressors is that <EM
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|
>they
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|
need to be replaced if they absorb a large surge</EM
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|
>. Besides
|
|
fuses, most suppressors rely on on components called Metal-Oxide
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Varistors (or MOVs) for spike suppression, which degrade when they
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take a voltage hit. The problem with cheap suppressors is that they
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don't tell you when the MOV is cooked, so you can end up with no spike
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|
protection and a false sense of security. Better ones have an
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|
indicator.</P
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|
><P
|
|
>You can buy surge suppressors at any Radio Shack; for better prices, go
|
|
mail-order through Computer Shopper or some similar magazine. All of
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|
these are low-cost devices ($10-50).</P
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|
></DIV
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|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><HR><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="conditioners"
|
|
></A
|
|
>2.2. Line Conditioners</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>These devices filter noise out of AC lines. Noise can degrade
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|
your power supply and cause it to fail prematurely. They also protect
|
|
against short voltage dropouts and include surge suppression.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>The Tripp-Lite 1200 I used to have was typical of the better class of
|
|
line conditioners; a box with a good big soft-iron transformer and a couple
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of moby capacitors in it and <EM
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|
>no</EM
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|
> conductive path
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between the in and out sides. With one of these, you can laugh at
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brownouts and electrical storms. A fringe benefit is that if you
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accidentally pull your plug out of the wall you may find you actually have
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time to re-connect it before the machine notices (I did this once). But a
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true UPS is better.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Netter Trey McLendon has good things to say about Zero Surge
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|
conditioners. He says: "Our systems at work [...] have been protected for
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2.5 years now through many a violent storm...one strike knocked [out] the
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MOV-type suppressors on a Mac dealer's training setup across the street
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from us. The Zero Surge just sort of buzzed when the surge came in, with
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no interruption whatsoever. The basic principle is this: ZS units slow
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down the surge with a network of passive elements and then sends it back
|
|
out the neutral line, which is tied to ground <EM
|
|
>outside at the
|
|
box</EM
|
|
> by code. MOV units shunt the surge to ground <EM
|
|
>at
|
|
the computer</EM
|
|
>, where it leaps across serial ports, network
|
|
connections, etc. doing its deadly work."</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Price vary widely, from $40-400, depending on the power rating
|
|
and capabilities of the device. Mail-order from a reputable supply
|
|
house is your best bet. Line conditioners typically
|
|
<EM
|
|
>don't</EM
|
|
> need to be replaced after a surge; check to
|
|
see if yours includes MOVs.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><HR><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN112"
|
|
></A
|
|
>2.3. Uninterruptible Power Supplies</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>The remainder of this document will focus on UPSes. A UPS does three
|
|
things for you. First, it filters the power your machine sees, smoothing
|
|
out spikes and voltage fluctuations that can stress or even damage your
|
|
electronics. Secondly, it provides a certain amount of dwell time in the
|
|
event your power goes out entirely — this can often get you through
|
|
brownouts and short blackouts. Third, when the UPS is about to run out of
|
|
power it can arrange a graceful shutdown of your computer so that no
|
|
unpleasant things happen to your disk filesystems. While the risks of
|
|
unexpected shutdown are much lessened in these days of journalling
|
|
filesystems like Linux's EXT3 or JFS from what they once were, ensuring a
|
|
clean shutdown is still a valuable contribution to any system
|
|
administrator's peace of mind.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Here's what a UPS will do for you:</P
|
|
><P
|
|
></P
|
|
><OL
|
|
TYPE="1"
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>Absorb relatively small power surges.</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>Smooth out noisy power sources.</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>Continue to provide power to equipment during line
|
|
sags.</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>Provide power for some time after a blackout has
|
|
occurred.</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
></OL
|
|
><P
|
|
>In addition, some UPS or UPS/software combinations provide the
|
|
following functions:</P
|
|
><P
|
|
></P
|
|
><OL
|
|
TYPE="1"
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
> Automatic shutdown of equipment during long power outages.
|
|
</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
> Monitoring and logging of the status of the power supply.
|
|
</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
> Display the Voltage/Current draw of the equipment.
|
|
</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
> Restart equipment after a long power outage.
|
|
</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
> Display the voltage currently on the line.
|
|
</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
> Provide alarms on certain error conditions.
|
|
</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
> Provide alarms on certain error conditions.
|
|
</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
></OL
|
|
><P
|
|
>Many pronounce UPS as "ups", but most of the literature seems to
|
|
favor "you pee ess", since they use "a UPS" instead of "an UPS". This
|
|
document will try to follow the literature. Neither pronunciation will get
|
|
you laughed at by those who are experienced in the field.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect1"
|
|
><HR><H1
|
|
CLASS="sect1"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN142"
|
|
></A
|
|
>3. UPS Basics</H1
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN144"
|
|
></A
|
|
>3.1. How To Select A UPS</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>UPSes are nowadays very inexpensive. In the U.S. in 2006, quite
|
|
capable ones are available for less than $100, and prices are heading
|
|
down. In fact prices are so low now that we're not going to walk you through
|
|
the elaborate optimization step that would have been important
|
|
even two or three years ago, of estiming the watt dissipation of your
|
|
computer and matching it to a UPS rating. Instead we'll explain
|
|
why this would be a waste of effort and how to buy in a simpler
|
|
and more effective way.</P
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="warning"
|
|
><P
|
|
></P
|
|
><TABLE
|
|
CLASS="warning"
|
|
WIDTH="100%"
|
|
BORDER="0"
|
|
><TR
|
|
><TD
|
|
WIDTH="25"
|
|
ALIGN="CENTER"
|
|
VALIGN="TOP"
|
|
><IMG
|
|
SRC="../images/warning.gif"
|
|
HSPACE="5"
|
|
ALT="Warning"></TD
|
|
><TD
|
|
ALIGN="LEFT"
|
|
VALIGN="TOP"
|
|
><P
|
|
>Bear in mind that the UPS systems that you're likely to buy in a
|
|
store or computer catalog are <EM
|
|
>not</EM
|
|
> intended for safety
|
|
or life-critical equipment. These devices should be considered to be pieces
|
|
of consumer electronics. As such, the number-one basis on which most of these
|
|
devices compete with each other is on price, not quality.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Cost-effectiveness is more important to UPS vendors (because it
|
|
appears to be more important to their customers) than ultimate
|
|
reliability. If your life depends on computer uptime, you need a special
|
|
purpose, online, big, redundant, expensive system. These systems are beyond
|
|
the scope of this document. When you buy a UPS at your local computer
|
|
store, you are <EM
|
|
>not</EM
|
|
> buying this sort of system.</P
|
|
></TD
|
|
></TR
|
|
></TABLE
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><P
|
|
>UPSes are rated by the watts a full battery can put out before
|
|
it drains. However, they are marketed using a VA (voltage-amps)
|
|
figure; often, consumer-grade UPSes don't even specify a wattage on
|
|
the box where you can see it. This is because the VA figure is larger
|
|
and looks sexier. As a rule of thumb. assume the wattage is half of
|
|
the VA rating; for an explanation of the complexities involved (if you
|
|
care) see the white paper <A
|
|
HREF="http://sturgeon.apcc.com/whitepapers.nsf/URL/WP-17/$FILE/WP17.pdf"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>Understanding
|
|
Power Factor, Crest Factor, and Surge Factor</A
|
|
> on the APC
|
|
website.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>But even if you know the watt rating of the UPS, it is the ratio of
|
|
that figure with the wattage dissipation of your computer that
|
|
controls the dwell time. Your dissipation is hard to predict; it can
|
|
even be effected by things like the size of monitor you use (big ones
|
|
can be quite power-hungry).</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Manufacturers try to get around this technical thicket by
|
|
putting an expected dwell time on the box. But they exaggerate and
|
|
even lie about their dwell times a lot (this is called
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="QUOTE"
|
|
>"marketing"</SPAN
|
|
>). What they'll do is quote you the dwell
|
|
time you would get driving a bare minimum system with the disk drives
|
|
shut off and a tiny monitor, in much the same way laptop manufacturers
|
|
lie about their battery dwell times. The more honest UPS
|
|
manufacturers give you a little table showing expected dwell times for
|
|
different system configurations (<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="QUOTE"
|
|
>"desktop"</SPAN
|
|
>,
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="QUOTE"
|
|
>"tower"</SPAN
|
|
>, etc.). As a rule of thumb, assume you will get
|
|
about 50% of the dwell time listed on the box for your configuration
|
|
type.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>My advice is to forget the numbers game. Just go online or to
|
|
your local computer store and buy one of the higher-end consumer or
|
|
home-office models from APC, Best, Tripp-Lite, Belkin, or some other
|
|
reputable manufacturer. Go ahead and grab the model with the longest
|
|
dwell time, highest watt rating, or biggest VA number you can find;
|
|
the premium for it is not likely to be more than $75 over the
|
|
bargain-basement model. I guarantee you will feel very good about
|
|
your decision not to pinch pennies come your first extended power
|
|
outage.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Perhaps a more compelling reason it is better to over-buy
|
|
capacity rather than ending up with a UPS that is too weak for your
|
|
power drain is that overstrained UPSes can fail in ugly ways,
|
|
including catching fire and exploding.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Be sure you get a <I
|
|
CLASS="firstterm"
|
|
>line interactive</I
|
|
> UPS
|
|
rather than the older <I
|
|
CLASS="firstterm"
|
|
>standby</I
|
|
> or
|
|
<I
|
|
CLASS="firstterm"
|
|
>SPS</I
|
|
> type. The older technology doesn't
|
|
actually filter your power through the battery, so you're not assured
|
|
of good voltage conditioning. The main advantage of an SPS (low cost)
|
|
has been eroded now that line-interactive UPSes are so inexpensive.
|
|
There are other UPS types, but they are either obsolescent or targeted
|
|
at large data-center installations. For a detailed discussion of the
|
|
different UPS types, see <A
|
|
HREF="http://sturgeon.apcc.com/whitepapers.nsf/URL/WP-1/$FILE/WP1.pdf"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>The
|
|
different types of UPS systems</A
|
|
>, a white paper on the APC
|
|
site.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Another important consideration is how your UPS will communicate
|
|
with your computer. Do not buy a serial line UPS (one that
|
|
communicates via an RS-232C cable). These are passing out of use in
|
|
favor of UPS designs that use USB or Ethernet, for the very excellent
|
|
reason that RS-232C interfaces are flaky, difficult to configure,
|
|
and difficult to debug. Ethernet is overkill for this application;
|
|
UPSes simply don't need that kind of bandwidth. We recommend sticking
|
|
with USB, which is well-matched in price/performance to this job
|
|
and relatively easy to troubleshoot.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Until recently there was an important distinction between
|
|
<I
|
|
CLASS="firstterm"
|
|
>smart</I
|
|
> and <I
|
|
CLASS="firstterm"
|
|
>dumb</I
|
|
> UPSes.
|
|
Dumb UPSes did voltage-level signaling through individual pins; smart
|
|
ones used the link as a primitive character channel and could pass
|
|
more status information over it. But if you avoid RS232C UPSes you
|
|
will never see a dumb one; indeed, it is likely that by the time you
|
|
read this no dumb UPses will be in production any longer.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Some UPSes advertise that they deliver a sinusoidal waveform. Those
|
|
that don't may be delivering something more like a square wave or a very
|
|
noisy sine wave. There are differing schools of thought about how
|
|
important this is. One school of thought holds that one should always run
|
|
equipment on the best approximation of sinusoidal input that one can, and
|
|
that deviations produce harmonics which may either be interpreted as signal
|
|
if they get through a power supply, or may actually damage the
|
|
equipment. Another school holds that since almost all computers use
|
|
switching-type power supplies, which only draw power at or near the peaks
|
|
of the waveforms, the shape of the input power waveform is not
|
|
important.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Who's right? We don't know. Nick's opinion is that sinusoidal output
|
|
is worth the extra money, especially for on-line UPS systems that
|
|
continually provide their waveform to the computer; Eric is inclined to
|
|
doubt it matters much with modern power supplies. If you don't know that
|
|
your equipment has a switching-type power supply, you certainly might want
|
|
to think twice before buying a low quality UPS.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Personally, I (Eric) like APC UPSes (nether Eric nor Nick has any
|
|
connection with the company). But this is not the kind of widget for which
|
|
manufacturer makes a whole lot of difference as long as you stick with one
|
|
of the reputable brands.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><HR><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN173"
|
|
></A
|
|
>3.2. Deploying your UPS and other devices: the total picture</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>Our recommendation for a production Unix environment is a
|
|
configuration like the following:</P
|
|
><P
|
|
></P
|
|
><OL
|
|
TYPE="1"
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>An UPS for the computer system. </P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>Surge suppression on all phone lines, and also on
|
|
serial/parallel lines that leave the room.</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>Line conditioners on any devices not connected to the UPS. If
|
|
you do take a power hit, it's cheaper to replace a $50 line
|
|
conditioner than a $1500 laser printer.</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
></OL
|
|
><P
|
|
>If this is too expensive for you, then downgrade the UPS to
|
|
a line conditioner like the TrippLite. But don't go without at least
|
|
that. Running unprotected is false economy, because you
|
|
<EM
|
|
>will</EM
|
|
> lose equipment to electrical storms —
|
|
and, Murphy's Law being what it is, you will always get hit at the
|
|
worst possible time.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>One thing to note is that you typically shouldn't put a laser printer
|
|
on the brownout-protected sockets in a UPS — toner heaters draw
|
|
enough current to overload a UPS and cause a shutdown within
|
|
seconds. Modern UPSes generally have some plugs that are marked
|
|
surge-suppressed but not filtered through the battery; plug your
|
|
printer into one of those.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>A UPS should be wired directly to (or plugged directly into) the
|
|
AC supply (i.e. a surge suppressor is neither required nor suggested
|
|
between the wall and the UPS). In addition, a surge suppressor
|
|
between the UPS and the equipment connected to it is redundant.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><HR><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN187"
|
|
></A
|
|
>3.3. Software Assistance</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>Your UPS communicates with your computer so it can gracefully
|
|
shut the computer down when an outage has lasted too long for the
|
|
battery to cope. In order for graceful shutdown to actually happen,
|
|
your computer needs to have a background process — a daemon, in
|
|
Unix terms — watching whatever messages come over the UPS cable
|
|
for the one that says <I
|
|
CLASS="firstterm"
|
|
>terminate</I
|
|
>. Then it
|
|
needs to tell the operating system to shut down.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Your UPS probably comes with a CD full of such software. Throw
|
|
it away, as (a) most of it will be useless bits written for Windows
|
|
systems, and (b) in the unlikely event you get Linux software it will
|
|
almost certainly be stale binaries for a version you don't run.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Back in the days of dumb serial-line UPses, there used to be
|
|
about half a dozen different open-source UPS monitor daemons:
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="application"
|
|
>apcd</SPAN
|
|
>, <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="application"
|
|
>dumbupsd</SPAN
|
|
>,
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="application"
|
|
>genpowerd</SPAN
|
|
>.
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="application"
|
|
>powerd</SPAN
|
|
>, <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="application"
|
|
>smupsd</SPAN
|
|
>,
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="application"
|
|
>usvd</SPAN
|
|
> and more. These were fairly stupid
|
|
programs for a simple job. Many required you to hand-wire a custom
|
|
RS232C cable to get around various evil things that UPS manufacturers
|
|
did to their ports in order to lock in customers.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Those days are gone. USB UPSes get rid of the cable-hacking and
|
|
hardware klugery, but require a bit more smarts from a monitor daemon.
|
|
Accordingly the field has narrowed considerably. There appear
|
|
to be only two such projects left standing.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>The <A
|
|
HREF="http://www.networkupstools.org/"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>Network UPS
|
|
Tools</A
|
|
> project is a generic UPS monitor daemon that aims to
|
|
communicate intelligently with all current UPS designs.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.apcupsd.org/"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>apcupsd</A
|
|
> is a daemon
|
|
specifically designed for communicating with UPSes made by APC, the
|
|
American Power Corporation.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Both are solid, well-run projects. Their development groups are
|
|
mutually friendly, and there has been occasional talk of a merger.
|
|
Awkwardly, the <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="application"
|
|
>apcupsd</SPAN
|
|
> project is in many ways
|
|
the more featureful of the two, with, among other things, better USB
|
|
support and better documentation — but the NUT tools have a cleaner
|
|
architecture, more developers, and acceptance in Red Hat and other major
|
|
distributions.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>My advice is simple; run <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="application"
|
|
>apcupsd</SPAN
|
|
> if
|
|
you buy an APC UPS, and the NUT tools if you buy anything else. RPMs
|
|
and Debian packages (which will modify your system's boot sequence
|
|
appropriately as well as installing the daemon binaries) are available
|
|
for both, so installation should be easy either way.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><HR><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN208"
|
|
></A
|
|
>3.4. Preparing Your System For Auto-Reboot</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>If you are using your UPS to try to keep a DNS/Web/mailserver up
|
|
24/7, you will want to make sure the machine can be configured to
|
|
boot automatically when it is powered up.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>This is not the normal behavior of most computers as shipped
|
|
from the factory. Normally after the power is cut and restored, you
|
|
must explicitly press a button for the power to actually be turned
|
|
on. You can test your computer by powering it down; shutting off the
|
|
power (pull the plug); then plugging the cord back in. If your
|
|
computer immediately starts up, good. There is nothing more to
|
|
do.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>If your computer does not start up, manually turn on the
|
|
power (by pressing the power on button) and enter your computer's
|
|
SETUP program (often by pressing DEL during the power up sequence;
|
|
sometimes by pressing F10). You must then find and change the
|
|
appropriate configuration parameter to permit instant power
|
|
on.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Normally, this is located under the <EM
|
|
>BOOT</EM
|
|
> menu item, and will be called something
|
|
such as <EM
|
|
>Restore on AC/Power Loss</EM
|
|
> or
|
|
<EM
|
|
>Full-On</EM
|
|
>. The exact words will vary
|
|
according to the ROM BIOS provider. Generally you will have three
|
|
options: <EM
|
|
>Last State</EM
|
|
>, <EM
|
|
>Power On</EM
|
|
>, and <EM
|
|
>Power
|
|
Off</EM
|
|
>.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Some BIOSes do not support such an option. This is idiotically
|
|
bad design, but it does happen. If so, your only practical remedy is
|
|
to get a new motherboard.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect1"
|
|
><HR><H1
|
|
CLASS="sect1"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="testing"
|
|
></A
|
|
>4. Testing Your UPS</H1
|
|
><P
|
|
>To test your UPS, throw the circuit breaker with the UPS on it to
|
|
simulate and outage and see how the transition goes. Note that in general
|
|
testing an UPS by pulling the plug from the wall is not a good
|
|
idea. Electronics like to always have a good ground reference. If you
|
|
unplug a UPS, it's still powered but now has what electricians call a
|
|
"floating ground". Not only can this be bad for electronics, but it can be
|
|
quite dangerous as well. It is likely that unplugging just about any UPS
|
|
for a short amount of time isn't likely to result in disaster (don't take
|
|
our word for it, though!), but in all cases, throwing a circuit breaker
|
|
would be a better thing to do.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>It might be useful to install a GFI (Ground Fault Interrupter) on your
|
|
UPS-covered outlets to facilitate this testing without having to throw a
|
|
breaker, especially if you don't have your UPS protected machines on an
|
|
isolated circuit (which you probably should). These are the sockets found
|
|
in most modern kitchens and bathrooms with a red and a black button. You
|
|
push the latter to cut power and the former to restore power.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect1"
|
|
><HR><H1
|
|
CLASS="sect1"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="maintaining"
|
|
></A
|
|
>5. Maintaining Your UPS</H1
|
|
><P
|
|
>Make sure the UPS keeps in contact with its electrical ground at all
|
|
times. Don't overload it. If it shows signs of misbehavior or
|
|
malfunction, yank it until it's repaired, or replace it.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Your UPS has a battery inside it. Usually it is a lead-acid
|
|
type (those are the least expensive for the manufacturer), but both
|
|
lithium and gel-cel batteries are sometimes used.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>The battery is by far the most vulnerable and failure-prone part
|
|
of your UPS. If you have your UPS long enough, you will probably have
|
|
battery problems. Once every six months to a year or so you should
|
|
recalibrate your UPS's battery sensor, and once every several years
|
|
you will have to replace the batteries.</P
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><HR><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN230"
|
|
></A
|
|
>5.1. Service contracts</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>Some consumer-grade UPSes, and all UPSes designed for serious
|
|
data-center use, can be bought with vendor service contracts. These don't
|
|
make sense for low-end units that can be replaced cheaply from a local
|
|
electronics store. If you're an IT shop with a bunch of UPSes scattered
|
|
over a campus, a service contract might make sense, depending on circumstances.
|
|
If you have a larger UPS in the 5-10 KVA range, a service contract may be a
|
|
valuable hedge against extended downtime.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><HR><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN233"
|
|
></A
|
|
>5.2. Extending battery life</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>To extend your battery life, (a) avoid deep discharges, and (b)
|
|
don't expose them to extremes of heat, cold, or humidity.
|
|
Unfortunately there is not much you can do to avoid deep-discharging
|
|
your UPS other than living in an area where power outages are few
|
|
and short.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><HR><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN236"
|
|
></A
|
|
>5.3. Recalibrating Your UPS</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>Your UPS's dwell-time calibration will lose accuracy over the life
|
|
of the battery. The usual symptom of this problem is that the UPS
|
|
overestimates the dwell time it has remaining during outages, but
|
|
occasionally it can also lead to an actual bad-battery condition going
|
|
undetected and very odd symptoms as a result.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>UPSes have a recalibration procedure built into their firmware.
|
|
It generally involves deep-discharching and recharging the battery
|
|
while the UPS is in a special test mode. Your recipe for triggering
|
|
such a recalibration will vary according to your UPS software.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>You always need to do this when you install new batteries (see
|
|
below). It is a good idea to do it once every six to twelve months
|
|
as routine maintenance, but no more often than that; as we noted
|
|
previously, deep discharges shorten your battery life.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><HR><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN241"
|
|
></A
|
|
>5.4. Replacing Your Batteries</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>All modern UPSes have a low-battery alarm and run a periodic
|
|
self-test; they will alert you when replacement is needed. Usually
|
|
they both flash an indicator and make an alarm sound. If you have a
|
|
monitoring daemon set up, they will alert it and you will probably get
|
|
warning mail. If you ignore the alarm it will time out, but be
|
|
repeated at intervals.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>You will occasionally get a false alarm. It's a good idea, if you
|
|
get an alarm, to explicitly trigger a UPS self-test the next day and see if
|
|
the alarm goes away (the procedure for doing this varies depending on
|
|
your UPS software). If the alarm is persistent, you need to replace
|
|
the batteries.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>It has been reported that bad batteries can also produce symptoms
|
|
that mimic inverter failures or wonky control electronics. Even if
|
|
your UPS is displaying epileptic symptoms like repeating alarms and
|
|
flashing panel lights, a bad battery is the first thing to
|
|
suspect.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>UPS manufacturers would of course prefer that you replace your
|
|
entire UPS when the batteries die, since they make more money that
|
|
way. But in fact there is nothing unique or magic about UPS batteries.
|
|
They are standard types also used for other applications such as
|
|
powering marine electronics, with standard connectors. You can buy
|
|
them from sources other than the UPS manufacturer, and sometimes replace
|
|
them with equivalents that are better and less expensive.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>It's best to wait until the low battery alarm before ordering a
|
|
replacement; keeping batteries on the shelf reduces their life unless
|
|
you keep them fully charged.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Do not throw old batteries in your regular trash! They contain
|
|
toxic metals and acids. Be kind to your environment and hand them to
|
|
a qualified party for recycling. Most battery dealers will cheerfully
|
|
do this for you. If not, your local garbage company or waste-disposal
|
|
authority can explain to you how and where to turn them in
|
|
safely.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Many UPS models use gel-cel batteries in standard formats like 12.0
|
|
V, 7.2Ah (151x64x94 mm). Warning: Many manufactors sell two or three
|
|
different types: standard use, cyclic use and high-current use. UPSes
|
|
require high-current and some UPS don't work well with batteries for
|
|
standard use, because the voltage goes low too early under high load (the
|
|
UPS turns off too fast or the output voltage drops so that the computer
|
|
turns off). Standard batteries are for alarm devices, emergency lights or
|
|
things like that. For instance Panasonic sells the "LCR127R2PG1"
|
|
(standard), and "UPRW1245P1" (high current), Fiamm the "FG20271" (standard)
|
|
and "FGH20902" (high current), CSB the "GP1272" (standard) and "HR 1234W"
|
|
(high current).</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Below, you will find some suggestions for buying replacement
|
|
batteries. One <EM
|
|
>important</EM
|
|
> note of caution: at
|
|
least one user purchased one of the aftermarket batteries noted below
|
|
and found out that they would not fit into his unit. This required
|
|
cutting and soldering and other very undesirable things, so be
|
|
extremely careful in measuring your batteries — including every
|
|
millimeter of the terminal connections, which can cause
|
|
problems.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Although you can do a hot swap of your batteries while the
|
|
computer is running, it may not be very satisfactory, because the unit
|
|
will not know that the batteries have been swapped and your monitor
|
|
daemon will continue to show a low-battery indication. To correct
|
|
this situation, you must do a discharge and recharge of the
|
|
battery. At that point the battery should be calibrated better.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>It may take several discharges and recharges of new batteries
|
|
before they reach full capacity and the dwell-time calibration is
|
|
accurate. If your UPS contains two or more battery units and your
|
|
monitoring software reports separate voltage levels for them, one way
|
|
to tell is to watch the divergence in voltage levels. As the cells
|
|
reach nominal full capacity, their voltages should converge.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><HR><H2
|
|
CLASS="sect2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN254"
|
|
></A
|
|
>5.5. Buying Batteries</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>APC makes "Replacement Battery Units" for each of the
|
|
SmartUPS models, but they sell them directly only in the U.S. Your
|
|
local Yamaha SeaDoo shop (if you have one) carries 35 ampere-hour deep
|
|
cycle marine batteries that are direct replacements for the kind APC
|
|
uses in many of its models. These are gel-cel and will double the
|
|
runtime and/or cut your recharge time in half. Here are some West
|
|
Coast sources:</P
|
|
><TABLE
|
|
BORDER="0"
|
|
BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0"
|
|
WIDTH="100%"
|
|
><TR
|
|
><TD
|
|
><FONT
|
|
COLOR="#000000"
|
|
><PRE
|
|
CLASS="programlisting"
|
|
> Jet Works
|
|
1587 Monrovia Ave.
|
|
Newport Beach CA 9266?
|
|
Tel: +1 714 548-5259
|
|
|
|
J-W Batteries, Inc.
|
|
Tel: +1 714 548-4017
|
|
|
|
WPS 49-1200
|
|
GEL-CELL KB-35 BATTERY
|
|
</PRE
|
|
></FONT
|
|
></TD
|
|
></TR
|
|
></TABLE
|
|
><P
|
|
>The company I've heard most strongly recommended (by Carl
|
|
Erhorn, a core developer on the <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="application"
|
|
>apcupsd</SPAN
|
|
>
|
|
project) is called Battery Wholesale Distributors of Georgetown,
|
|
Texas. If you have questions, you can reach them by phone at (800)
|
|
365-8444, 9:00AM to 5:00PM (their local time), Monday through
|
|
Friday. Carl reports having gotten email from them on the weekends,
|
|
although the office is not open then.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>The web site, with current pricing, is <A
|
|
HREF="http://www.batterywholesale.com"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>www.batterywholesale.com</A
|
|
>.
|
|
They will ship outside of the US, they take all the usual credit
|
|
cards, and they accept orders by phone or Web.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Carl reports that BWD has found manufacturers who make batteries
|
|
in the standard case sizes, but have additional capacity over original
|
|
UPS batteries. Often, the difference is as much as 15% or so, and this
|
|
can result in additional runtime. It's a nice upgrade for a minor
|
|
increase in price.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>BWD is also 'green-aware', in that they encourage you to
|
|
recycle your old batteries, and will accept the old batteries back
|
|
from you if you cannot find a local place that recycles them. You
|
|
pay the shipping but other than that, there is no charge.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Carl says <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="QUOTE"
|
|
>"I've been very pleased with their
|
|
products, service, and pricing. I hope you find them as helpful to
|
|
you as I do. I've been dealing with them since about 1994, and have
|
|
never been disappointed. The owner of the place also is very good
|
|
on technical issues, so if you have questions on their products, he
|
|
can get as technical as you need to go."</SPAN
|
|
></P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect1"
|
|
><HR><H1
|
|
CLASS="sect1"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN266"
|
|
></A
|
|
>6. Vendor information</H1
|
|
><P
|
|
>Note: Many of these manufacturers make specialty systems for
|
|
large data centers, not the consumer-grade UPSes that we cover in
|
|
most of the rest of this document.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
></P
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="variablelist"
|
|
><DL
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.apcc.com/"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>American Power Conversion</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> APC is the largest manufacturer of small UPSes (<2000 VA)
|
|
and has a whole line
|
|
of UPS systems (mostly line interactive), software, and
|
|
power system accessories which can be purchased directly
|
|
from them or via many retail
|
|
outlets around the United States and overseas.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.belkin.com/index.asp"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>Belkin</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> Belkin makes a lot of computer connectivity products,
|
|
including UPSes.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.clary.com"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>Clary Corporation</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> Clary sells UPS products and specializes in emergency,
|
|
military, and life support systems. They also sell
|
|
management software and accessories.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.controlledpwr.com/"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>Controlled Power Company</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> Controlled Power produces UPS systems, power conditioners,
|
|
voltage regulators and transformers. Equipment can be
|
|
ordered direct.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.powerware.com/USA/default.asp"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>Eaton Powerware</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> Eaton Powerware includes the product line that was formerly
|
|
Best Power, Inc.. They produce many types of UPS systems.
|
|
more advanced line interactive systems, and ferroresonant
|
|
line interactive systems as well as software, PDUs, and
|
|
power system accessories.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.gotoemerson.com/main/default.asp"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>Emerson Electronics</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>
|
|
Emerson is a big electronics conglomerate. Its claim to
|
|
fame in the UPS world is that it's the parent company to Liebert.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.powersource.net/"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>Energy Technologies, Inc.</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> Energy Technologies provides power devices (including UPSes)
|
|
for physically demanding customers, including military and
|
|
vehicle uses. Most if their UPS systems seem to fall in
|
|
the 600 to 6000 VA range.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.exide.com"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>Exide Electronics</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> One of the bigger players in the data center sized UPS
|
|
system industry, Exide also makes more modest sized
|
|
on-line and line interactive systems. Exide products
|
|
can be purchased direct or from their distributors.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.gamatronic.com/"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>Gamatronic Electronic Industris, Ltd.</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> We're told these guys are the largest UPS manufacturer
|
|
in Israel and the Middle East. Their product line runs
|
|
the gammut from 1000 VA to 150 kVA systems.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.geindustrial.com/industrialsystems/gede/index.html"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>General Electric Industrial Systems</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> Yup, GE makes UPSes from 300 VA up to MVA systems.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.intellipower.com"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>IntelliPower, Inc.</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>
|
|
Intellipower sells on-line UPS systems and management software.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.liebert.com/"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>Liebert</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> A subsidiary of Emerson Electronics (see above), Liebert
|
|
is probably the largest manufacturer of large (10 kVA +)
|
|
UPS systems. Also well known for their other data center
|
|
products including power distribution units and HVAC
|
|
products. They also make smaller UPS systems (300 VA on
|
|
up), but these are not nearly as popular.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.mgeups.com"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>MGE UPS Systems</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> MGE UPS Systems sells UPS systems from 300 VA to the very
|
|
large and additional power equipment.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.meau.com/eprise/main/Home/home"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>Mitsubishi Electric Automation</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> Mitsubishi Electric Automation seems to specialize in
|
|
larger (> 5 kVA) UPSes, but they make them as small as
|
|
1 kVA.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.oneac.com/home.asp"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>Oneac</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> Oneac sells line interactive and online UPS systems with
|
|
software in the US and UK. They were acquired by the
|
|
Chloride Group (see Chloride Power, below) in 1998.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.opti-ups.com/"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>OPTI-UPS</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> OPTI-UPS makes standby, line-interactive, and online UPS
|
|
systems ranging from 375 VA to 8000 VA.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.philtek.com/"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>Philtek</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> Philtek makes inverters and other similar power system
|
|
components.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.waber.com/"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>SL Waber</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> SL Waber sells mostly UPS systems including the Tripp Lite
|
|
brand name as well as a wide assortment of surge suppression
|
|
and other power accessories.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.toshiba.com/"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>Toshiba</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> Toshiba sells a lot of things, including UPSes. They sell
|
|
online UPSes from 1400 VA to the 300 kVA range. One of
|
|
Toshiba's product lines are UPSes specially designed to
|
|
automatically configure themselves to work with both US
|
|
(60 Hz) and European (50 Hz) power.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.p3international.com/"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>P3 International</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> P3 International makes a number of cool consumer electronics
|
|
devices, but as far as this document is concerned, the
|
|
most interesting is an easy-to-use and relatively
|
|
inexpensive power monitoring device called "Kill A Watt".
|
|
When you can't or don't want to use a good break-out cable
|
|
and ammeter, this device is a good choice for measuring
|
|
power consumption.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.power-innovations.com/"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>Power Innovations International, Inc.</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> Power Innovations sells online UPS systems ranging from
|
|
500 VA to 400 kVA.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="http://www.chloridepower.com/"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>Chloride Power</A
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> Chloride Power is a relative newcomer to the U.S. market
|
|
but has much more experience and is better known in Europe.
|
|
For the US market Chloride produces online UPS from the 700
|
|
VA to 3000 kVA range, and what look like they might be
|
|
standby systems from 300 VA to 650 VA.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
></DL
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><P
|
|
>There are a lot of companies in this space, and there's no way that
|
|
we can list all of them. We try to include most of the best known companies
|
|
along with a few niche players that might be of interest to the readers of
|
|
this document. Let me know if there are important companies that we haven't
|
|
included.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect1"
|
|
><HR><H1
|
|
CLASS="sect1"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN381"
|
|
></A
|
|
>7. Bibliography</H1
|
|
><P
|
|
>One critical source of information on power protection is the IEEE
|
|
"color book" series, especially the following:</P
|
|
><P
|
|
></P
|
|
><UL
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>The Emerald Book, IEEE Recommeded Practice for Powering and Grounding Electronic Equipment, Std. 1100-1999, 1999.</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>The Gold Book, IEEE Recommended Practice for the Design of Reliable Industrial and Commercial Power Systems, Std. 493-1997, 1997.</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>The Green Book, IEEE Recommended Practice for Grounding of Industrial and Commercial Power Systems, Std. 241-1990, 1990.</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
></UL
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="sect1"
|
|
><HR><H1
|
|
CLASS="sect1"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN391"
|
|
></A
|
|
>8. Acknowledgements and Related Resources</H1
|
|
><P
|
|
>Substantial portions of this document, notably the bits on
|
|
maintaining your UPS, were originally part of the
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="application"
|
|
>apcupsd</SPAN
|
|
> documentation. The project
|
|
maintainers have graciously permitted me to re-use them here. Other
|
|
parts were part of my <A
|
|
HREF="http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO//Unix-Hardware-Buyer-HOWTO/"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>Unix
|
|
Hardware Buyer HOWTO</A
|
|
>.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>There was a previous UPS HOWTO by Harvey J. Stein, last updated
|
|
in 1997. It was so out of date that I ended up using none of it.</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
></DIV
|
|
></BODY
|
|
></HTML
|
|
> |