UPS Help

[neonplanet40]

Hi folks, currently sorting out a new NAS etc and keen to maybe get a cheapish ups in case the power ever cuts (hasn't in the 5 years I've loved here but you never know).

I will have 2 NAS fully populated:

Synology DS1821+
Synology DS920+

The purpose of my UPS will be to allow these devices to safely shut down when there's a power cut.

However, I don't know anything about UPS. I was looking at this:

APC by Schneider Electric Back-UPS BX - BX1400UI - Uninterruptible Power Supply 1400VA (AVR, 6 Outlets IEC-C13, USB port, Shutdown Software) https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00T7B...ing=UTF8&psc=1

Would this be up to the job or do I need something bigger? I find it out to figure out 'runtime' based on those 2 devices.

Thanks for your help.

[blueball]

UPS are always listed in VA rather than Watts. You would need to know the efficiency (Power Factor) of the load to know what the actual Wattage is and only then can you work out run time. In my experience it can take several minutes to properly shutdown a NAS so I would expect 1400VA to be adequate (assuming it is just to shutdown rather than to power it).

What I do not know about is whether there is software for the NAS to actually implement the shutdown when the UPS indicates power failure. IIRC APC supply Powerchute to run on PCs/Servers but whether there is anything for a NAS I do not know.

Sorry can't be more helpful.

[DDY]

Quick web search shows that the power supply ratings for the DS920+ and DS1821+ are 100W and 250W respectively. For a UPS demand estimate, the power supply ratings are a conservative figure, the actual power consumption with all the drives on full-pelt is probably about half that.

Modern digital electronics typically have a power factor of more than 0.9, but for the sake of a conservative estimate, assume PF of 0.5 – so (100W + 250W) / 0.5 = 700VA

So there’s plenty of power to spare on a 1400VA UPS.

EDIT: Forgot about the estimated run time.

Quick web search shows the battery to be a 165Wh battery (which is about what I expect for this unit, i.e. a pair of 7Ah 12V batteries)

Taking the total rated power supply load of 350W gives you an estimated run time of (165 / 350) = 0.47 hours or 28 minutes.

This will reduce over time as the batteries age, to about 70-80% of the original capacity in four to five years, for a typical UPS.

[AGTDenton]

What I do not know about is whether there is software for the NAS to actually implement the shutdown when the UPS indicates power failure. IIRC APC supply Powerchute to run on PCs/Servers but whether there is anything for a NAS I do not know.

Certainly for QNAP it understood the Eaton UPS I had for it without the need to manually download any driver or optional utilities.
It was excellent plug n play with the control built right in so you could choose what it did upon power loss, it would calculate the maximum amount of time the device could remain powered. I would hazard a guess Synology is very similar.

https://www.synology.com/en-uk/compa...change_log_p=1

Only Omron USB UPS devices are guaranteed to support the UPS shutdown function. Other UPS brands cannot be guaranteed to properly support this function.

I suspect this is because they have some sort of deal with Omron rather than there being anything fundamental about it.

[neonplanet40]

I ordered the APC unit. Will see how I get on! Thanks all.

[ik9000]

logging into thread as this is something i need to arrange shortly too and there's some useful stuff in here. Thanks all.

[badass]

For anyone on this thread, I wrote some scripts a few years ago that when run from a windows system can shut down a QNAP or Synology NAS. It was because the UPS config options on them were a joke at the time. I also have a script that monitors UPS battery levels every 30 seconds and connectivity and can trigger another script when a battery threshold is hit and the UPS running on battery.

[ik9000]

For anyone on this thread, I wrote some scripts a few years ago that when run from a windows system can shut down a QNAP or Synology NAS. It was because the UPS config options on them were a joke at the time. I also have a script that monitors UPS battery levels every 30 seconds and connectivity and can trigger another script when a battery threshold is hit and the UPS running on battery.

[ik9000]

Can anyone feedback on what the noise is like with these APC UPS units? Their data sheets routinely say 40-46dB which sounds horrificly loud for something going in habitable areas of my house.

[neonplanet40]

I don't hear any noise from my APC unit. That isn't to say it's silent, just that I can't hear it over one of my Synology 1821+'s.

[badass]

Can anyone feedback on what the noise is like with these APC UPS units? Their data sheets routinely say 40-46dB which sounds horrificly loud for something going in habitable areas of my house.

Having had 500 and 800VA units I would say that their noise in normal operation is inaudible over any PC/Server kit anywhere near then.

However, when the power is cut you get a loud click (assuming its some sort of relay) and a clearly audible buzzing sound when on battery power. However that's quiet compared to the beeping alarm that goes off.