breakthru, maybe....

[Frank Shute]

On Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 01:31:26PM -0700, Gary Kline wrote:
>
[snip]
> 
> 	And for my next trick: I'm ordering a UPS.  It is only for the
> 	DNS server and firefall (pfSense).  I'll either refurb the 
> 	current computer or buy a newer 32-bit for the firewall.  I'd 
> 	like suggestions on which UPS to buy.  Figuring the Dell Duo 
> 	and a standard Intel box, would 250w be a good enough SWAG?
> 
> 	gary

You've got a choice of buying a "thick" UPS or a "smart" UPS.

The "smart" UPS has a cable running from a USB port and it signals the
computer (running a UPS daemon) to power down after a certain period
of time or after the charge in the UPS has got to some user set
percentage.

The "thick" UPS doesn't have the cable and just runs your hardware
until the battery is flat or the power returns, whichever comes first.

As you will have guessed, the "smart" UPSes are more expensive than
the "thick" ones and they also tend to be beefier.

Obviously the "smart" ones are more featureful but you know what your
budget is.

I've got an APC Smart 750VA which powers my server, router and
workstation. I've also got a trailing lead plugged into it. This I use
to plug in miscellaneous electrical gadgets and protect them from
surges. Current load: 37% of full capacity.

I run apcupsd from ports and it seems to work well.

So my recommendation is to get something like mine (if you can afford
it) and you can plug in other stuff and still have a reasonably long
runtime.

PS. They have lead acid batteries and it's best not to flatten them.


Regards,

-- 

 Frank

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