--- On Tue, 5/13/08, PaulNM <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> From: PaulNM <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Re: [gentoo-user] UPS recommendation
> To: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org
> Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2008, 4:51 AM
> Arthur Britto wrote:
>
> > You likely want more than a minute. Most likely, you
> don't want your
> > system to crash when coming back up when power fails
> soon after it is
> > restored: your system could be in the middle of a
> fsck. Generally, you
> > want enough capacity to: power off, power on, and then
> power off safely.
> >
> I second this. If the system is busy, it might take a
> couple of minutes
> before it really shuts down. Ten to fifteen minutes is the
> MINIMUM
> runtime I'd suggest. As the battery ages, runtime will
> lessen, plus it
> gives you more room to expand. Power usage does not scale
> linearly, if
> 200 watt usage lasts X amount of time, 400 watt usage lasts
> less than
> X/2 and 100 watt is more than 2X. My personal experiences
> with power
> outages is that they're rare and short, but when they
> do occur they
> happen a few times during the day/night. This, of course,
> may vary from
> your area. Another thing to consider is brownouts or volt
> dropages. The
> ups will kick in if the volt level drops too low (or too
> high). If this
> happens frequently enough, it will deplete the battery or
> wear it out
> much more quickly.
>
> > I am very happy with the CyberPower Intelligent LCD
> Series: CP*AVRLCD
> > http://www.cyberpowersystems.com/
> >
> > The series has:
> >
> > NUT support:
> > You want something that works with NUT. Instead of
> a vendor specific
> > package. This way your acquired skills are portable
> and future proofed.
> > Network UPS Tools
> > http://eu1.networkupstools.org
> > NUT is great. It safely powers off my system when the
> UPS is low.
> > Additionally, I set it up to e-mail my cell phone when
> the power state
> > changes. If I go out during a power outage, I can
> stay out longer if I
> > know the power is not restored.
>
> My personal experience has been with APC equipment, but
> CyberPower is
> also a great maker. I also second NUT. It's a better,
> more flexible
> framework that supports just about any decent ups.
>
> >
> > USB interface:
> > * A USB port is more future proof: serial ports are
> becoming rare.
> > * Allows monitoring UPS state.
> > * Allows powering off the UPS.
> >
> USB is almost mandatory now. Serial ports are usually only
> on high-end
> expensive models, and (almost) never on what you'll
> find in stores.
>
> > LCD Display:
> > At a touch know:
> > * power consumption (don't need to pull out a
> Kill-O-Watt)
> > * battery charge
> > * estimated minutes remaining
> >
>
> Before spending extra on anything with an LCD, google the
> model or lcd
> errors first. I've seen reports that they tend to be
> inaccurate,
> especially with APC. Mine under reports watt usage by a
> significant
> amount, somewhere between 1/3 to 2/3 of actual usage(I
> forget what my
> tests with various light bulbs showed). This was testing
> the ups with
> only a small lamp plugged in, everything else UNPLUGGED
> (not just off).
> I also used several light bulbs since they can vary a
> little.
>
>
> > One thing to be wary of is like most inexpensive UPSes
> it does not
> > provide a pure sine wave. This can damage a power
> supply that has
> > active power factor correction. Luckily for my
> Silencer 750 Quad
> > according to the manufacturer due to the short time in
> which the UPS is
> > in use it is not an issue.
> >
> > -Arthur
> >
> >
>
> PaulNM
> --
> gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org mailing list
Thanks for your exhaustive replies. I've decided to go for the APC ES-350 for
seventy bucks at the local Staples. Mostly because I could pack it home on my
bike and avoid the shipping charges which are huge for heavy things, like UPS
systems. According to the table on the back of the box I get 6min with a 15in
LCD monitor, so I should get slightly more with no monitor attached. I don't
care if I don't save something or have to abort a compile in mid-stream. What
I'm afraid of his having the power cut out while the r/w head of the hard drive
is in motion. That can't be good.
-mw
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