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Here's why you need a UPS


vca

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We just had a nasty little late winter storm blow through the area, high winds, rain, then sleet and snow.  Lots of power blips.  The little APC Back-UPS ES 550 handled it quite well.  Here's what the unRAID server log had in it:

 

Apr 8 17:22:02 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 17:22:04 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 17:22:59 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 17:23:01 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 17:36:15 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 17:36:17 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 17:36:26 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 17:36:27 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 17:40:33 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 17:40:35 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 17:45:56 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 17:45:58 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 17:50:46 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 17:50:48 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 17:50:48 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 17:50:50 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 17:52:07 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 17:52:08 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 17:56:36 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 17:56:37 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 17:56:43 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 17:56:45 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 17:56:54 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 17:56:56 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 17:56:59 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 17:57:01 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 17:59:27 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 17:59:29 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 17:59:50 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 17:59:52 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:00:43 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:00:44 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:01:00 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:01:02 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:01:10 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:01:12 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:04:16 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:04:18 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:04:42 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:04:44 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:05:07 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:05:09 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:05:16 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:05:17 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:05:22 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:05:23 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:05:53 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:05:55 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:05:56 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:05:57 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:07:23 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:07:25 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:07:35 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:07:36 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:08:13 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:08:15 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:08:21 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:08:23 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:08:25 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:08:27 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:08:47 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:08:49 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:08:52 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:08:54 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:08:55 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:08:55 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:10:46 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:10:47 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:10:55 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:10:57 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:10:58 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:10:59 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:11:11 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:11:12 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:11:35 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:11:37 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:11:44 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:11:45 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:12:33 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:12:35 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:12:42 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:12:43 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:14:29 saturn kernel: mdcmd (100506): spindown 8
Apr 8 18:19:16 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:19:17 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:19:20 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:19:22 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:20:07 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:20:09 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:29:29 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:29:31 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:32:15 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:32:17 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:46:22 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:46:24 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:46:24 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:46:26 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:52:45 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:52:46 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:52:48 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:52:50 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 18:55:53 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 18:55:55 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 19:02:05 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 19:02:07 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 19:02:17 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 19:02:19 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 19:02:24 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 19:02:26 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 19:04:58 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 19:05:00 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 19:05:13 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 19:05:14 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 19:08:40 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 19:08:42 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 19:09:13 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 19:09:15 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 19:09:34 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 19:09:36 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 19:27:02 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 19:27:03 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 19:30:57 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 19:30:59 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 20:03:49 saturn kernel: mdcmd (101168): spindown 1
Apr 8 20:09:31 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 20:09:33 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 20:11:21 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 20:11:23 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 20:20:01 saturn kernel: mdcmd (101266): spindown 0
Apr 8 20:26:55 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power failure.
Apr 8 20:26:57 saturn apcupsd[1633]: Power is back. UPS running on mains.
Apr 8 21:02:23 saturn kernel: mdcmd (101521): spindown 4

 

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Wow,

 

I'll bet the lights were flickering...

You had 64 power failures in your syslog...(I counted them)    

 

We had a thunderstorm blow through this evening too, but no snow or sleet.

I only had 6 power fail blips in my syslog, each for less than a second.  

 

Yes... the UPS is well worth the small cost.

 

Joe L.

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was it a power failure, or did power drop below threshold voltage?

 

most computers can run 100-250v input but ups are usually set to a very specific voltage before they take over.

 

if you didnt have a ups of course, youd have ONE power outage :)

In my case for most of the power blips, the lights flickered off completely.  Only one time did they just go visibly dim.

 

 

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I just had a big thunderstorm in my area and the UPS saved me a couple of times.  I think i saw 3 entries in the log but only once did the lights actually go out completely.  Scared me a little bit when it happened but the UPS did a beautiful job keeping the server going!

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Rarely do we lose power for more than a second or two.  When we do, it is usually ice storm related.  (one outage about 5 or 6 years ago was for 7 days, another that same year 5 days, but those were before I had the unRAID server.  Very few home UPS will supply power for a week.)

 

Even a small UPS will get us through most all thunderstorms.  In my own experience, if the power is out for more than a few seconds, it will be out for at least a few hours.   My UPS on the unRAID server gives about 10 minutes run time. It is configured to start the shutdown process if power is lost for more than 5 minutes.

 

Joe L.

In those extended power outages I learned that if you decide to go to sleep at 7:00 PM, well after it gets dark, you'll wake up somewhere around 3:00 AM, fully rested after 8 hours of sleep,  and it is still dark.  :-[  

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I live in central FL, the lightning capital of the USA. In addition I live on an island so power loss from the Utility company is also an often momentary occurrance. All the electronics in the house (well at least 90%) of it is on a UPS system, with the house having a standby backup generator.  The only issue I have ever had was when I did not do the proper Battery checkup and a battery had gone out and a power failure occurred . . .

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was it a power failure, or did power drop below threshold voltage?

 

 

It looks like most were voltage drops, but there were a number where the lights went out for a second or two.  Certainly any machine that wasn't on a UPS would have been toasted quickly.

 

Stephen

 

 

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In those extended power outages I learned that if you decide to go to sleep at 7:00 PM, well after it gets dark,

you'll wake up somewhere around 3:00 AM, fully rested after 8 hours of sleep,  and it is still dark.  :-[ 

There's a direct corelation between power outages and birth rate spikes.  :D

 

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In those extended power outages I learned that if you decide to go to sleep at 7:00 PM, well after it gets dark,

you'll wake up somewhere around 3:00 AM, fully rested after 8 hours of sleep,  and it is still dark.  :-[ 

There's a direct corelation between power outages and birth rate spikes.  :D

 

Only in younger couples... Not too likely at our age. (wife well past menopause)  ;D
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