With increasing amounts of data stored electronically, more processes dependent on computer applications, and more technologies being tied into corporate networks, businesses are far more reliant on technology than ever. As a result, high availability and continuous uptime are essential to a company's operations. Fortunately, the latest generation of power protection technologies offers plenty of sophisticated and economical solutions, making it easy to protect your infrastructure.

A Growing Threat

Blackouts, brownouts, catastrophic sags, and spikes in electricity—the vagaries of the power grid can bring a company's entire IT infrastructure to its knees. The results can range from temporary annoyances to millions of dollars in lost data, equipment, sales, and productivity. "The estimated annual costs of power disturbances are between $119 [billion] and $188 billion a year,” says Farah Saeed, program manager for backup power solutions at technology research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. “It’s a big problem that affects at least 72% of all U.S. businesses.”

Even electricity suppliers acknowledge that businesses don’t always receive pure, clean power. “It cannot be overemphasized that electrical [disturbances] will occur on all typical systems at some point and time,” notes utility company Pacific Gas & Electric. “Every facility should consider the impact of electrical disturbances on the various equipment and implement the appropriate mitigation,” PG&E advises its customers.

New Power Protection Tools

Fortunately, these mitigative measures are becoming easier and more effective. Vendors of power protection equipment are improving the effectiveness and reliability of their technologies, and today these suppliers match backup and power-generating hardware with intelligent software that makes it easy to protect vital IT resources.

Different Problems, Different Solutions

Comprehensive power protection relies on a number of different types of technologies. Surge protectors level out power spikes, so a sudden boost in power doesn’t overload electronics and burn out components. The workhorse of power protection, the uninterruptible power supply, provides battery backup to keep computers running if electrical power falters or cuts out completely. UPSs can also monitor and manage electrical quality, so sensitive IT components always receive the highest-quality power possible.

UPSs come in a variety of load capacities, measured by their VA (voltage-ampere) rating, a measurement of apparent power. UPSs are also rated by kilowatts, a measurement of real power. In the UPS sizing process, VA is derived by multiplying electrical line voltage by the amp rating of each device or the combined ratings of multiple devices to be connected to a UPS. Single desktop PCs typically require a UPS rated at about 300VA. Networking or VoIP telecom gear might require a UPS rated in the thousands of VA, ranging from 3kVA (3,000VA) to around 15kVA. Large capacity enterprise-class UPSs for centralized server farms and data centers may range from 200 to 500kVA.

UPSs come in three broad categories. The simplest and most economical is the standby device. These units wait in the background as PCs and other standalone devices run off of standard electricity. They don’t intervene unless a problem arises, at which time the UPS’ battery takes over temporarily, long enough for users to save work.

A second category, the line-interactive UPS, constantly monitors the electricity flowing into electronic devices and boosts or levels out the voltage level for spikes and sags. These are appropriate for workgroups and servers.

The most sophisticated UPSs, double-conversion online units, continuously provide the highest-quality power to mission-critical systems. These devices produce optimum sine-wave electricity by converting raw AC power to DC and then back again into AC. These are best suited to large data centers and mission-critical systems that require constant uptime.

The New Wave

Recently, most technological innovation has been in the high-capacity devices that protect workgroups, data centers, and enterprise-wide IT resources. Many of these cutting-edge products extend beyond power management with cooling systems for a comprehensive approach to protecting IT investments. The advanced management software available with these systems can monitor power problems and initiate an orderly shutdown of systems to protect data and equipment. The management programs also perform predictive analyses that continuously monitor conditions and alert IT managers if trouble is brewing.

Workgroup and enterprise UPSs now come in slimmer profiles and rackmount configurations, making them easier to fit into tight communications closets. Meanwhile, many of today’s large-capacity UPSs support “hot swap” capabilities, letting managers buy enough protection for current conditions and then simply plug in additional capacity when needed.
 

Information Support Concepts (ISC)  offers a vide variety of UPS units from top tier manufacturers.  Click here for information on UPS products, then call us at 800-458-6255 to get help with your particular application.

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