[plug] Best UPS for Linux

[Craig Ringer]

Jonathan Young wrote:

> Any good experiences?  Any bad experiences?  Any recommendations?  Any 
> good brands?  Any bad brands?  Anywhere to get some more information?

I've been very pleased by the PowerWare 2000VA online double-conversion 
UPS the POST bought recently. While overkill for your needs, it's a 
great unit with network management, multiple options for controlled 
shutdown (polled SNMP, SNMP trap, it's own software for win32, or serial 
monitoring), it can shut down the two load segments independently, etc. 
Its online stats and monitoring are excellent. It's network module has a 
4-port switch that lets you set up a separate management network if you 
want.

It can keep the POST's four main servers and two switches running for 
rather more than five minutes, though I haven't yet load tested beyond 
15 mins.

Before I put this UPS in place the POST's servers had no power 
protection, due the failure of an old and smaller UPS quite some time 
ago. Budget constraints. After moving to new premises, we'd started 
seeing frequent server crashes and hardware failures. These entirely 
stopped after I put the UPS in place, and I don't think it's co-incidence.

It's nuking a fly to get one of these for just one server, though IIRC 
it only cost a bit under two grand. However, PowerWare as a brand I've 
been quite happy with. You might find it worth checking out their lower 
end UPSs, keeping in mind that just because one line is excellent does 
not mean another will be.

--
Craig Ringer