UPS - How does it work

[Dal1980]

Hi

 

So for a long while I've been thinking about buying a UPS. I don't know anything about them really (other that what the name would suggest) so I researched some articles and YouTube.

 

I now know what they do, why they are good to have and a have even gone as far as to show me how they are made. Great!

 

So APC seemed like a sure bet from recommendations, so, I filled in their little product chooser in and it suggested one, which I bought.

 

The instruction manual is abysmal, it doesn't really tell you anything.

 

How does it talk to unRAID and tell it that the power has been cut and it should shutdown?

 

I read a bit about NUT (Network UPS Tools) but since unRAID supports both UPS and APC out of the box I thought I wouldn't need an additional tools setup.

 

Scratching my head

 

https://www.apc.com/shop/uk/en/products/APC-Back-UPS-400-230V-BS1363/P-BE400-UK

 

Also why do they think that my broadband ADSL line would need surge protection, I've never heard of that before?

 

 

[trurl]

It should have come with a cable with a standard USB (A) plug on one end which plugs in to your server and a different plug on the other end which plugs in to your UPS. Set it up in the Unraid webUI at Settings - UPS Settings.

[Dal1980]

It came with a telephone RJ11 cable (both ends are RJ11). I've attached a pic of the only connector ports there are (other than power sockets).

[Dal1980]

Oh, I see it tells me that there is an additional port on the 550 and 700 models that has a USB connection.

 

So how does this unit tell the computer to shutdown if there's no connection on this model?

 

 

[Squid]

8 minutes ago, Dal1980 said:

So how does this unit tell the computer to shutdown if there's no connection on this model?

 

It doesn't.  Those jacks are to protect the ethernet system and telephone system from power surges.  Your's strictly does not communicate at all, and after the battery goes flat it's no different than what you've already got (ie: no UPS)

[Dal1980]

Thanks Squid

 

Honestly, doesn't that just defeat the whole UPS thing. What if I'd walked to the shops, gone in the shower or was sitting out in the garden soaking up what little sun we have here in the North East of England.

 

I've contacted the supplier to see if they will exchange, so disappointing, it was the only part of my research I could not get a clear answer on and I asked APC to recommend me one.

 

Grr

 

Thanks guys for your help

 

[Squid]

20 minutes ago, Dal1980 said:

Thanks Squid

 

Honestly, doesn't that just defeat the whole UPS thing. What if I'd walked to the shops, gone in the shower or was sitting out in the garden soaking up what little sun we have here in the North East of England.

 

I've contacted the supplier to see if they will exchange, so disappointing, it was the only part of my research I could not get a clear answer on and I asked APC to recommend me one.

 

Grr

 

Thanks guys for your help

 

I use those types on auxiliary equipment (switches, modems etc), along with systems that are pretty much only on when I'm actually using them

[trurl]

I have 2 UPS.

 

The larger one has the USB connection to my Unraid server, but it powers both my Unraid and my desktop. Unraid monitors the UPS status over USB using apcupsd built-in to Unraid. The desktop monitors the UPS status using apcupsd I installed on it, but over the network to the instance of apcupsd on Unraid. They both shutdown after a short period on battery since I don't want to run the battery down.

 

The smaller UPS has all my network on it. The network must stay up one way or another or my desktop can't get the status of the UPS it is on. And I can still use the internet for a while with wifi on laptops and mobile devices even if the power is off.