The Power of Surge Protectors

A short interruption to your work is more likely to cost less than buying a UPS (uninterruptible power supply AKA battery) for your computer. This is the reason why most businesses don’t have a UPS for their employees (and that is perfectly fine); but what about a simple surge arrester? Is this the same on your server environment?

For starters, if you don’t have a UPS on your server, run to the store and get one ASAP (or just call ESEI). And don’t think the main reason is to keep your server running on battery in case of an outage; it’s actually to protect the equipment by conditioning the power and allowing it to shut down properly if the outage is extended. Without a UPS you could lose data or have hardware failure that later reflects on system availability for your business, so the ROI is almost immediate. Just FYI… a simple UPS costs $100-$150… this is less than 5% the cost of a new server. Plus, most UPS devices have a 3-5 year warranty.

Now for workstations, yes, it’s a little bit too much to have a UPS… but did you know a simple surge protector can save you from a system crash?

According to berkeys.com, a surge arrester (also called surge protector) is defined as a voltage activated device that protects computers and other electronic equipment from surges or transient voltages in electrical power or data cables, whether it be from lightning or a switching surge. A surge arrester works by diverting the extra voltage into the earth wire, rather than flowing through the electronic devices, while at the same time allowing the normal voltage to continue along its path. Extra voltage can potentially fry electronic devices and that is no bueno.

New systems have better power supplies designed to withstand power surges and protect components like the computer motherboard, but if this fails or the computer is a little bit old the power supply may fail and simply fry your computer. So do not rely on power supplies as the only surge protection on your computer; the cheapest surge protectors cost $10. This doesn’t mean the system can’t still be damaged, but the recovery and cost for replacement parts can be lower.

Moral of the story, have your systems prepared for any power failures or surges, the cost of losing the system for a day is way more than a simple UPS or surge arrestor investment.