UPS - Uninterruptable Power Supply
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What is a UPS?
A UPS is a device connected between then mains electricity
supply and
your Computer Server or PC. It has two main functions:
- It filters the mains supply to remove spikes which can
cause failures; these spikes can be a thousand volts or more and last
for a brief time; it is during this spike time that real damage can be
caused to electronic components.
- It takes over the supply of mains in the event that the
mains electricity fails or worse goes into a state known as a brown
out; this is where the supply falls to an unacceptably low level; it is
during this time that disks can crash and data in memory is lost or
corrupted.
Recently we suffered a momentary power failure at the building
where my
office is located. I heard a groan of complaint from other people in
the building as their computers stopped working and any work was lost.
All my office equipment is connected to a UPS so all we could hear was
the bleep, bleep of the warning signal telling us that the UPS was
working correctly. We know that once this signal starts we have 10
minutes of usable time before then system batteries are exhausted. This
allows time to complete the piece of work being carried out and shut
the system sown in an orderly manner.
Are these UPS devices expensive? No, a couple of hundred pounds. Worth
every penny when I hear the bleep, bleep, bleep.
About the Author
Chris Eden FIBC, MISSA, ACQI is a director of Quality Matters
Limited
an established independent management consultancy based in Essex, UK
which specialises in ISO27001 Information Security Management
consultancy.
Tags: Computer system security ISO27001 Information Security Management
