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I've decided the one area of data/comms/av/cctv I have neglected is a backup power supply.

It's more to keep POE cameras going for a short while given it's very easy to shut down power externally.

 

Not sure of the current draw but I'm almost certain it would be cost prohibitive to cater for the entire data rack.

So ultimately I'm wanting to power router/gateway/POE switch + 9 cameras/and rackmount Synology NAS.


It needs to be rackmountable, but as it's only a 600mm depth rack this poses some limitations.


As I've never purchased a UPS before, I thought I would throw it out to see if there is anything I should be aware of, tips and tricks etc?

To ease the budget, I could possibly buy one with enough capacity for now, and then add another down the track as budget allows and split the devices in the rack.

 

Any advice appreciated.

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I’m not sure of a UPS, the ones I deal with only holds if your lucky 20mins max for a normal back up typical 300W desktop....weighs a tonne becuase of the lead acid battery.   And Because they were lead acid batteries ,   None of them were replaced, after 4-5 years when they indicated that it’s end of life, they were rarely ever used as backups becuase the power never went off,   so they just sat there....and then the battery needed replacing.  

Others will obvious chime in and give there experiences.....   not sure what’s available now, maybe some would have introduced lithium ions....  but if you’re thinking this far ahead, don’t you have a whole PV system installed?  If so may also have a look at a storage solution at this end as backup for the whole house.  My brother has a 5kW battery storage with his PV...

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Guest rmpfyf
28 minutes ago, muriwai said:

Rmpfyf? I think is his avatar 

hes the man to chime in?

Ha!

 

9 hours ago, Marc said:

Not sure of the current draw but I'm almost certain it would be cost prohibitive to cater for the entire data rack.

So ultimately I'm wanting to power router/gateway/POE switch + 9 cameras/and rackmount Synology NAS.


It needs to be rackmountable, but as it's only a 600mm depth rack this poses some limitations.

 

Have a customer with just this scenario, and my own is not significantly different.

 

You want an APC smart UPS. Get the management cards 2nd hand online - much cheaper and when properly setup they make management and alerting silly easy (I get an email when mains goes out or faults). It'll also shut your NAS down nicely when power really goes out, which saves hard disks.

 

Cost prohibitive depends on your budget. I have two 750VA APC's that I scored with the management cards for $400 including new batteries, and they hold up... pretty much what you're describing. Only they're not rack mount as I don't have the room. 

 

The rack mount 750VA units will fit a 450mm rack so you've no problems going longer. Even the 2000VA units are under 500mm. Anything in that range is going to work in a pinch, you'll want to size appropriately for efficiency though. Start here https://www.apc.com/shop/au/en/categories/power/uninterruptible-power-supply-ups-/network-and-server/smart-ups/N-1h89ykeZ1no8x1dZn5qufZ1ki3iuw

 

Measure your power draw - your solar system might be able to measure this for you if equipped with export metering.

 

Don't be frightened by second hand. Just budget new batteries, which are not expensive and are easy to install.

 

You're talking about a 12-20 minute runtime - that's all - if you want more look into the Smart-X range which can be fitted with a second battery for a 4U solution. They start at 750VA and go up. You can also (with a bit of programming and the management cards) have the UPS broadcast a line outage which can command a few devices to go low-power/off and accordingly extends the duration. 

 

You should be able to get out of this for under $500 refurbished.

 

Whatever you get check the specs and make sure it's line-interactive - you do not want something that's always on. It'll sound like the ocean in your home, this has low WAF.

 

PM/ask any questions.

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Guest rmpfyf
1 hour ago, Addicted to music said:

I’m not sure of a UPS, the ones I deal with only holds if your lucky 20mins max for a normal back up typical 300W desktop....weighs a tonne becuase of the lead acid battery.   And Because they were lead acid batteries ,   None of them were replaced, after 4-5 years when they indicated that it’s end of life, they were rarely ever used as backups becuase the power never went off,   so they just sat there....and then the battery needed replacing.  

Others will obvious chime in and give there experiences.....   not sure what’s available now, maybe some would have introduced lithium ions....  but if you’re thinking this far ahead, don’t you have a whole PV system installed?  If so may also have a look at a storage solution at this end as backup for the whole house.  My brother has a 5kW battery storage with his PV...

 

Lead acid is supposed to just sit there, nothing wrong with that. 

 

Li-ion UPS start at $2k. 

 

OP has PV. A battery system doesn't just involve the battery, there's an auto transfer switch and some serious MSB work to be done - plenty of customers that have battery and still use an independent UPS for critical stuff.

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Thanks all, and great starting point for me to explore -thanks @rmpfyf!

Noise isn't a real concern as I have a climate controlled server room (part of the garage), but I still don't want it blowing a gale in there either.

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As others say, I think you need to work out your current draw and go from there, there maybe some things you dont need to plug into it

 

I have one  of these:

https://www.centrecom.com.au/cyberpower-value-2200e-lcd-gp

 

It does fine for what I need. PC, 2 x monitors, Synology NAS, router, 2 x external hard drives. Auto shuts down NAS when low battery

 

Not sure what "Half-load / Full-load (mins)8 / 2" means but am assuming full load of 1320W will run for 1 minute? I probably get close to an hour run time, apart from 650w (maybe) pc power supply and maybe 40w max for the NAS, not using much. Was bought mainly to protect pc & Nas from crashes as often get power outages which sucks when you are part way through a CAD drawing

 

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2 hours ago, Addicted to music said:

And Because they were lead acid batteries ,   None of them were replaced, after 4-5 years when they indicated that it’s end of life, they were rarely ever used as backups becuase the power never went off,   so they just sat there....and then the battery needed replacing.

This is the main danger.  They just sit there and then fail to work some years down the track when you first actually need to use them in anger.   You should schedule fairly regular tests (once a year maybe)when you can conveniently shut off the mains and see how long they can support the load.  If it isn't near specification, replace the batteries.

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This is what I am looking to power. Essentially what I'd like it to do would be to send a command to shutdown the server right away in the event of power cut, but continue to power the switches, modem, and NAS.

 

I'll shut it all down this afternoon and put a wemo switch on the wall outlet so I can measure the worse case scenario power draw.

IMG_0467.jpg

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Guest rmpfyf
1 hour ago, aussievintage said:

This is the main danger.  They just sit there and then fail to work some years down the track when you first actually need to use them in anger.   You should schedule fairly regular tests (once a year maybe)when you can conveniently shut off the mains and see how long they can support the load.  If it isn't near specification, replace the batteries.

 

Management card does this automatically - and pushes results.

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Guest rmpfyf
On 06/03/2020 at 8:35 AM, Marc said:

Noise isn't a real concern as I have a climate controlled server room (part of the garage), but I still don't want it blowing a gale in there either.

 

Somewhere in Melbourne there's a 2kVA Delta UPS a customer bought that was not line interactive. Amazingly loud.

 

He gave it to a guy that said 'I have a server room in my garage'.

 

After the second guys wife nearly killed him over the noise, it was moved on again.

 

If you can locate it and your wife will not kill you then there's probably a free Delta UPS out there in the ether :)

Edited by rmpfyf
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I agree that you would need a "Smart UPS" to allow the UPS to shutdown important equipment properly and also be able to notify someone about any problems.

Use a sine wave UPS if possible.

 

I have been using a second hand APC Smart UPS 3000 (3000VA) for about 10 years now, bought off eBay for $300.00 and have not in that time replaced the batteries, the UPS does a regular test on them.

It is quiet, unless it is working, sits in a spare room inside, but it is not a rack mount, it is large 460mm H X 200mm W X 540mm D.

The UPS has two 15A inputs and 8 outlets, quite a lot of overkill, but the price was low for what it is and does.

 

I have my UPS connected via the local network and use the APC software "APC PowerChute Business Edition" (Windows version) for remote setup and control.

I did need to use a special cable to alter the initial settings on the network card, that may not be needed now with newer UPS's.

 

I would let the server run for 5 minutes on the UPS as a lot of outages are not of long duration, can save a server restart.

It would be worth looking into the motherboard BIOS settings of the server to check if it can be restarted without intervention when the power is restored, that was possible on the server boards I was responsible for.

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