A Briefing on Battery Backup
Posted on 02-25-08
One of our clients emailed me the following question: How important is it for us to have individual battery backups since we have a generator that kicks in within a few minutes if our power goes off?
Key fact: no computer or network device can sustain operations in the event of any noticeable power failure. You’ve watched your computer reboot at the smallest “flicker” in the power. Your building may be equipped with a generator, but that doesn’t protect your computer or network device from a power outage.
A computer system “crash” caused by power events can be devastating to your network. Beyond physical damage, the loss and/or corruption of data looms as most damaging to your business. The cost of resulting downtime or data recovery efforts can easily eclipse the cost of battery protection.
Battery backup devices provide two (2) major functions. First, they sustain power to your computer and network equipment in the event of a power outage. Additionally, most good battery backup units also provide some level of power conditioning. The better battery systems (often used on servers), can even provide protection from voltage sags and surges. In case of an extended outage, battery backup units can implement an orderly shutdown of your equipment.
Our client has a generator system for the building, but that only underscores the necessity of a complete battery backup solution. Typically, backup generators are equipped with a delay circuit that senses the absence of power for a specified time before the generator starts and switches into the building power. If battery backup devices cover all facets of your network, all operations can continue uninterrupted while waiting for building power to be restored by the generator.
Opti-Vise highly recommends that, at a minimum, battery backup systems be provided for all servers on your network. We also recommend that critical network devices (firewalls, routers, switches, etc.) be considered for battery units, as well. For the highest level of protection, workstations should also be included.
