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I haven't had a UPS for decades, but sat in the office out in the sticks the power just went off (again).
Anyone know of a decent UPS that can protect a small office server? I would be covering an FTTP broadband connection, Ryzen 2600X based Linux server and a QNAP so not a huge load.
Ability to tell the Linux box to shut down might be tricky if it is a box aimed at home use. But heck, the last one I used was an APC Smart-UPS that was designed to shut down a Novell server so I don't know :D
Still APC I would say mate, that's what I am currently looking at, I know what I am getting with that, as with you the last UPS I had was a APC Smart-UPS. Didn't think I needed one until we had a power cut last week with loads of unsaved things which are now gone.
Currently looking at something that will cover about 600w, my power supply is 750 but my pc rarely even when gaming or rendering goes above 450, so 600 should be fine and the apc software will tell the computer to shut down. About £120 new for what I need.
I believe the powerchute software can be used on Linux or its done through the IP or something
Can't speak for other manufacturers but APCs powerchute software has a Linux build that will shut down for you https://www.apc.com/shop/uk/en/produ...ly-/P-SFPCNS43Quote:
Originally Posted by DanceswithUnix
APC Smart-UPS.
I use Apcupsd for UPS control. I have a server connected to the UPS via USB and everything else on the UPS looking at the server for UPS info over LAN.
I'd have used APC's Powerchute but the free 'Personal' version doesn't work on Windows Server, well, I bet it does, but I'd need to pay for the 'Business' version for that privilege.
OK, so APC using apcupsd just like the old smart-ups 700 I had all those years ago (before it started smoking and I had to dump it on the patio in a hurry :D )
I'm struggling to see what the Smart-ups gets me over the Back-ups Pro for so much more money.
This is what I am currently looking at : https://www.amazon.co.uk/APC-Back-UP...QZHK1Y0B16YZ0N
Output wave forms of the Smart-UPS are 'true sine waves' while depending on the model of Back-UPS can be stepped square wave. Can't tell you what the effect is between the two, though I've read reports that a stepped square wave isn't great for efficiency, reliability, longevity, the bank holiday weather, etc. and as a good-used Smart-UPS is about the same price as a new Back-UPS, I'd tended towards the former.
Saw a used Smart UPS 1500 sell on ebay for £110, then at least that again for new batteries
That model is tempting, given I can almost buy three of them for the price of the Pro. The Pro has a connector for an optional second battery though, and whilst the outage today was only a minute or two it might be nice to get longer coverage. Would be nice if the product data on Amazon could be trusted, it says the Pro has a 1 Watt-hour battery, which I guess would give me about 15 seconds of backup power :D Thankfully the actual APC website has runtime graphs etc. So the Pro and the BX both give about an hour at 100W usage, but the pro has replaceable batteries and a fancy LCD readout.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonj1611
Yes I did see the LCD readout on other units, for me I wonder if I ever will see it, my old UPS was stuck under the desk and never saw the light of day. The BX will have replaceable batteries, I am sure all UPS's have ?
tl;dr don't worry about used UPS batteries or replacements, too much.
All UPS'es I've come across, from dirt-cheap Maplin own-brand to APC's Back-UPS and Smart-UPS have replaceable batteries, which consist of standard sized sealed lead-acid packs - you don't need to go with the manufacturers brand or OEM.
I replaced the batteries on my APC SMT-1500 earlier this year, the manufacture date of the UPS was 2011 and I bought it used in 2013. A new battery pack using mid-range brand cells cost me £60 delivered.
The original CSB OEM batteries that I pulled still pack a punch, I estimate well over 80% of the original capacity remains and I now use them for off-grid projects.
I wouldn't hesitate to leave the orignal batteries in for a few more years had I not needed some batteries for my projects.
The battery longevity isn't surprising, considering that these batteries aren't subject to extreme temperatures, probably get a few hours a year runtime, spend the rest of the time healthily topped up, are charged with clean power and are protected from over-discharge.
Well I killed a Smart-UPS once while changing the batteries by accidentally dropping a metal screw onto the main board whilst re-assembling it at a point where the batteries had to be plugged in. So having an easy hot-swap battery change where you don't even have to power the thing off sounds rather nice :D
However the £130 one seems so much better value that it is the one I think we are going for. Will see how it goes. We are only a small company, but still it is a company purchase so second hand doesn't make much sense.
Thanks for the input everyone, most helpful!
I used to have a less-known/unbranded UPS which worked fine for years, but when the battery failed it didn't tell my server of it, and I found out the hard way.
I'm currently running the £75 700VA APC BX version of the one linked above. It has a user-replaceable battery, which in terms of being more sustainable is quite important to me. And also supports server communication.
I use a standard USB-B cable to connect it to my server, which runs ESXi, and I pass it through as a USB device to a guest which is running apsupsd. I have this trigger a remote shutdown on the ESXi host when power gets critical. The server itself reboots on power restoration.
I get about 30 minutes run time, but have never had a power outage long enough to properly test that.
Hanging off it I have:
- Intel Pentium (Sandy Bridge I think) with a bunch of disks.
- BT Openreach modem
- 24-port Netgear smart-switch
- Ubiquti AP
Would definitely buy again.
Also, the back-ups's use cheapo components with a limited lifetime. I've had 2 back-ups 800's stop charging and supplying power due to suspect MOV failure. They were for my home setup and I will not be buying another. The Smart UPS's seem to last much longer. Should the current UPS go, I'll get a 2nd hand Smart-UPS to replace with or without batteries. IIRC most APC battery packs are one or more 1207 batteries.Quote:
Originally Posted by DDY
I am currently running a HP T750 G2 got it from here (£52): https://secure.ups-trader.co.uk/towe...2-t750-g2.html
Powerful enough for my setup and has USB hookup so my PC will safely shutdown if battery runs low. Mostly in my case due to using aggressive ram caching on everything.
Good company to buy from (my experience of one order) and have many refurb options on their website.
Erm, interesting link. I know how much those batteries weigh, the link shows a pallet of UPSes stacked 8 high, I don't think I want one of the bottom ones!
We went with the back-ups 1400 in the end, with apcupsd running on the server. Thought it was a bit pants to not include a USB cable, but thankfully I had one spare in the back of my garage. At some point I should try pulling the power and see what happens :)