UPS Uninterruptible Power Supply Maintenance

Many ISPs (Internet Service Providers) now use UPS to continuously supply power to their servers to ensure that the information on their servers can be accessed by the outside world at any time. The UPS power supply system consists of two parts: the host and the battery. These two parts are not only expensive, but also require a very particular use environment. If users cannot use and maintain the UPS correctly, not only will the UPS not be able to function effectively, but in serious cases, its service life may be shortened.

(1) Focus on protecting computers that store important information

Every computer may experience a sudden power outage during use due to unstable power supply voltage or other reasons. For general computers, this sudden power outage may be a very common thing, but for computers that store important information, it may cause immeasurable losses to users. Therefore, from the perspective of practical value of protection, users should only protect the power supply of a few important computers in order to make the UPS protection worthwhile.

(2) Select the appropriate UPS according to the protection object

If the UPS is purchased to protect the computer storing important information, it is necessary to ensure that the UPS can provide a protection voltage within the normal range of the rated value, so that when the mains power fails, the UPS can instantly complete the process of switching to the backup power supply, so that the computer can still run smoothly during a short power outage, and there will be no data loss or system shutdown. In the case of a long mains power outage, the UPS can start the power management software to safely shut down the computer system to ensure the integrity of the data. In this way, the UPS not only protects the computer hardware, but also protects the data in the hardware. If the UPS is purchased to protect the network server, in addition to the surge voltage protection function, the UPS should also have the function of preventing data line surges to ensure that the UPS can run at least 5 minutes under full load conditions when the mains power fails, thereby avoiding interference from the mains power to the network switching equipment. In addition, the UPS adapted to the server should also have an intelligent battery management function.

(3) The UPS cannot be operated at rated power for a long time

In the opinion of many people, to fully utilize the function of UPS, UPS should be operated at rated power all the time. Although this is correct, if UPS is operated at full load for a long time, its service life may be greatly shortened. The principle of UPS use should be to use UPS for key equipment as much as possible, rather than connecting all equipment that does not need power protection to UPS, which can only increase the operating burden of UPS and shorten its service life. The correct approach is to moderately control the load rate of UPS and ensure that the load of UPS does not exceed 85% of its rated power. Of course, there is no need to run UPS at too low a load.

(4) Backup UPS should not be used on power-sensitive equipment

The backup UPS is usually in the state of floating charge of the battery. When there is a power outage, the inverter switches to the working state, converting the DC power provided by the battery into a stable AC output. However, this type of UPS has a switching time problem and is not suitable for protecting power-sensitive equipment. Because although the switching time of this UPS is very short, for power-sensitive equipment, such as some equipment with very high control accuracy, the power supply voltage must not only be continuous but also stable. Once there is a slight fluctuation in the power supply, its working state can change greatly.

(5) Make sure that the UPS power distribution cabinet uses an air switch

In order to ensure the safety of UPS, you must also pay attention to the switches used in the UPS distribution cabinet, because if the distribution cabinet connected to the UPS uses an ordinary old-fashioned knife switch, this switch will have an arcing phenomenon when connecting or disconnecting the power supply, which will generate a sudden sharp current and cause additional interference to the mains power supply. If the distribution cabinet uses a new air switch, the arc extinguishing function of the air switch can be used to avoid arcing, thereby ensuring the stability of the mains power supply. In addition, the old switch uses a fusible fuse, which is relatively slow in current response. In this way, once a short circuit or other special circumstances occur, the power supply cannot be cut off in time.

(6) The UPS protecting the server should have intelligent management functions

The server is the core of the network. All important information in the network is stored in it. Once an accident occurs to the server, the entire network may be paralyzed. In order to respond to any abnormality of the server in a timely manner, the UPS connected to the server is required to have intelligent management functions, such as automatic management and adjustment of the power supply of the server, or when the power supply encounters a sudden failure, the UPS can automatically shut down the server's operating system and power supply. In addition, the intelligent function of UPS also includes transmitting relevant information of the server to the operating system or network administrator through the network, so that the server administrator can remotely control and manage it in real time.

(7) Let the battery work in a suitable environment

What kind of maintenance can users do for the lead-acid batteries in the power cabinet? In fact, the most important maintenance work for the batteries is to make the batteries work in a suitable environment. Because the battery has high requirements for the temperature of the working environment, the appropriate temperature can make the battery play its best potential and extend the service life of the battery. For this reason, the working environment temperature of the battery should be kept at around 25℃ as much as possible. If the temperature is too high, the battery life will be shortened; if the temperature is too low, the UPS will not reach the nominal delay. In addition, when assembling the battery, be careful not to mix batteries with different capacities and different factory brands, which will greatly reduce the actual use effect of the UPS.

(8) The capacity of the selected UPS should match the power of the protected object

UPS with different capacities vary greatly in price. If the selected UPS capacity is lower than the load power, then the UPS cannot provide power protection for these devices normally; on the contrary, if the selected UPS capacity is significantly higher than the load device power, the UPS capacity can only reach the power of the device to be protected, so the funds spent on the higher power part are wasted. Therefore, when choosing a UPS, it is best for users to calculate the power of the device to be protected first, and then choose a UPS with a capacity at least as large as the load requirement. Of course, if the device that users need to protect may increase in the future, some margin can be appropriately considered on the existing basis.

(9) Do not connect inductive loads to the UPS

Since the inductive load will generate an oscillating current when the power is connected or disconnected, the peak value of this current will be much larger than the current value that the UPS can withstand. This oscillating current can easily cause the UPS to be overloaded instantly. If the overload occurs many times, the service life of the UPS will be greatly shortened. Therefore, it is recommended not to connect some unimportant inductive loads, such as household appliances such as refrigerators or air conditioners, to the UPS.

(10) Learn to test UPS when purchasing

In order to check whether the UPS you choose meets your actual needs, you must conduct an on-site test after purchasing the UPS to confirm whether the UPS you choose meets your actual needs. The main inspection contents during the test include UPS startup inspection, alarm and automatic shutdown inspection, battery power supply/charging time inspection, AC/battery switching point inspection, etc. A simple way to detect whether the UPS can provide power failure protection for the computer is to suddenly unplug the UPS power plug. If the computer can continue to operate normally, it is considered that the UPS is competent for protection.