The UPS and Downs of Power

Plugging in a battery-powered UPS is hardly a best practice, but it is the first step in protecting your Haivision solution. Using a UPS is absolutely crucial for protecting your equipment from failure and damage from unexpected blackouts, voltage fluctuations and other power disruptions. Power supplies being interrupted can cost companies business. From lost business to damaged equipment, lost power can cost your company millions. Following these guidelines will help ensure your Haivision solution continues working in the event of power loss:

• Configure your network properly. Install a UPS data protection device between your telecommunications provider's data line and your computer systems. 

  

  Important

  A UPS usually includes proprietary software that must be installed for the unit to step in and properly power any connected systems when the principal power source fails.

  Remember to configure settings to initiate shutting down open applications based on battery values (either how long the battery's been running or how many minutes the battery can continue powering the current load). 

• Monitor and regularly test the UPS battery to make sure that it retains sufficient strength to power your Haivision systems properly should the electrical supply to your site fail. 

  

  Tip

  Many UPS devices feature hot-swappable batteries. Such models enable changing a UPS' batteries without powering down attached equipment. Hot-swappable batteries are particularly useful when powering servers and other critical devices.

• Ensure that your UPS solution will support your systems for a sufficiently long time in the event of a power disruption. Power disruptions could last for some time, and it's important to make sure that your event is not ruined during a prolonged outage. 

• When upgrading or expanding your Haivision solution, be sure to recalculate the volts-amperes/wattage needed for the UPS and upgrade/deploy any additional UPS required to secure your site. 

  

  Important

  Be sure that your UPS is sufficient to support your equipment when needed. The attached UPS should have an output watt capacity 20-25% higher than the power draw of the attached equipment.

• To avoid incomplete backups overwriting properly completed backups, be sure to instruct Windows Backup (and third-party backup routines) to abandon backup operations if battery mode begins. 

  

  Tip

  Also, when using Windows' native backup utility, specify that the task not start if the system is running on batteries.