It's time to review your computer equipment power protection strategy.
Several ways exist to defend against brownouts, power spikes, surges and
everything short of a direct hit from lightning. The two most common
appliances to use are surge suppressors and battery backups.
A surge suppressor resembles a power strip. And it is a power strip, only
with the ability to stop a power spike dead in its tracks.
Look for a common brand (American Power Conversion, Tripp Lite, Panamax,
Woods and others) and a notation on the box or packaging, that if the
device fails to protect your equipment, the manufacturer will pay to repair
or replace your damaged equipment.
This guarantee can range from $2,500 to $25,000. Get a surge suppressor
with modem/fax protection. Plug your modem, printer, fax machine, scanner,
telephone answering machine and multimedia speakers into the suppressor.
Also, protect your expensive home-theater gear with a suppressor that has
coaxial cable-TV protection. Remember, anywhere electricity can enter an
appliance, you should have that point of entry protected. And your TV cable
is no exception.
Again, look for name brands. Don't try to save a few dollars by buying a
no-name brand suppressor. Go for quality.
But a surge suppressor is only half of the story. Surge suppressors only
guard against electrical spikes and surges. Battery backups also provide a
constant stream of electrical power in case of a brownout or blackout.
Depending on the volt-amps provided by the backup itself, you can expect
anywhere from five to 20 minutes' worth of battery power -- more than
enough time to collect your thoughts, finish that sentence or formula, save
your file, close your operating system and shut off your computer.
In some cases, a battery backup will do all this automatically.
Justifying a battery backup is easy, especially if your computer generates
your income, and right in the middle of finishing a proposal, KAPOW! A
transformer down the street is hit by lightning and the entire block goes
dark.
If you had a battery backup, you'd be able to save your work, finish your
work and either shut down the computer or fax the finished proposal to your
client.
There are two types of battery backups. The cheapest activates with any
drop in voltage. This type provides dependable protection, but goes off at
the slightest provocation -- and the beeping can drive anyone crazy.
The better backups are line-interactive. This means the battery backup, or
UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply), senses a brownout and feeds the user
just enough battery power to make up the difference between the needed
voltage and the missing voltage, without sounding any alarms.
In a full blackout, the UPS kicks in completely.
Your better backups also provide modular connectors for RJ-11 telephone or
RJ-45 network cable, protecting them from electrical surges and spikes,
too.
Battery backup sizes are measured in voltage amps. The higher the number,
the more powerful the backup and the longer the unit can sustain your
computer.
Small desktop Macs and PCs can usually get by with a 250-280 VA UPS. This
will sustain your PC and monitor for anywhere from five to seven minutes
and cost under $100.
Larger Macs and PCs should use a 400-450 VA UPS. These units should keep
you up from seven to 10 minutes and cost anywhere from $150 to $300.
Power users should consider 600-650VA battery backups, priced above $300.
Network file servers should take a minimum 1000VA backup, and I would
seriously consider a 2000VA to 2200VA backup. These backups cost several
hundred dollars. And don't forget to back up hubs, if you're trying to
cover 100 percent of your network environment.
One last thing: Don't plug your printer or fax machine into a battery
backup. The initial power-up before printing will drain the UPS of all its
power and trip the unit's internal circuit breaker. Plug your printer into
the surge suppressor instead.
Prevention
Data surge myths
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