Clean Reliable Backup Power
How will you provide clean, reliable backup power?
The UPS provides a critical line of defense against power outages, transients and anomalies that could otherwise compromise data center availability. Several deployment approaches are available:
Centralized, where a large-capacity UPS powers the entire data center. This works well when growth can be accurately forecast. The basic architecture simplifies monitoring and maintenance, but a failure of the UPS can bring down the entire computer room.
Zoned, where the computer room is divided into zones, each powered by a UPS. This approach is more scalable, and a UPS failure would only affect a single zone, not the whole data center.
Distributed, where a UPS serves one or a few racks. This approach adds complexity but limits the impact of a UPS failure.
In practice, only four to eight UPSs can be connected in parallel for capacity or redundancy in any deployment choice, so it's important to size the UPS appropriately both for present and anticipated load requirements, for three to five years out.
Where should you locate the UPS? You would probably install it in a separate equipment room when the UPS is large (>200 kVA) or uses flooded (wet cell) batteries, where computer room real estate is at a premium, or if maintenance technicians should not enter the computer room.
You might prefer to keep the UPS in the computer room if it is important that the UPS receive the same security and conditioned environment as other IT assets, to be managed like every other device in the data centers. The sleek design of modern UPSs blends well in today's computer rooms.
Learn more about clean, reliable backup power. Your business continuity plan demands it.
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