When operating a data centre, the key to success is to have the necessary infrastructure in place to ensure maximum uptime, security, and reliability. In most cases, the best way to do this is to use a UPS. But, what is it, and how might the right one save your data centre? Let’s take a look.
What is UPS?
UPS stands for an uninterruptible power supply or system. As you might imagine, a UPS system ensures that all equipment has a power supply, even in the event of a mains outage, power failure, blackout, power surge, or environmental event.
What are different types of UPS for data centres?
There are many different types of data centre UPS, which vary depending on the manufacturer and the model you opt for. However, they can be roughly divided into three subcategories that can give you a good rule of thumb going forward.
- Individual
As the name suggests, an individual UPS unit is only connected to one or more pieces of equipment. In other words, it is more like a short-term backup power supply.
- High-performance
These are typically larger than the above, powering up to about a dozen pieces of equipment. In addition, they can also provide power for longer than individual UPS units.
- Advanced (or ‘full’)
A full UPS is capable of powering all the equipment in the data centre. They often have both a battery and generator so that it can power the entire facility indefinitely if needed.
Benefits of UPS for data centres
- Improve tier rating
The tier rating system was created and implemented by the Uptime Institute, an unbiased advisory organisation, and they are still the only institution licensed to do these assessments to this day. Put simply, there are four progressive tiers based on the uptime of a data centre, with tier one the least reliable at 99.671% uptime, and tier four the most with at least 99.995% uptime.
In order to achieve any of the tiers, you must also have support from a UPS – the better the UPS, the higher the rating. Thus, UPS can simultaneously improve your uptime rating and, of course reduce the amount of business downtime, which leads to less risk of money or business losses.
- Sustainability potential
In the modern world, we are all doing our part to help the environment. One way we do this is by transferring to renewable energy. However, renewable energy does have its downsides, as it can be quite unpredictable at times.
However, one research study has found that UPS could actually help to ‘smooth out’ any bumps in the road, and the data it collects used to highlight where energy savings might be possible. Though this study is somewhat controversial, it looks as though UPS will have the potential to improve sustainability practices, if not now, then in the future.
- Consistent power
There are small fluctuations in the typical power supply, which can begin to damage equipment over time, even if there are no immediate effects to it. However, having your power supply run through a UPS will even out the fluctuations, providing consistent power to your equipment.
Final thoughts
Overall, a UPS can have significant benefits for a data centre, both in terms of downtime, security, consistency, and even sustainability. With these things in mind, choosing the right UPS for your data centre can be a real saviour.
