View Source: UPS - Waikato Linux Users Group

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[Acronym] for __U__ninterruptable __P__ower __S__upply.

Roughly speaking, this is a big battery that will run your computer for a short time when the power goes out. It isn’t usually large enough to maintain power to the computer for an extended length of time (hours) (unless your money:IQ ratio is too high, or, like [zcat | BruceKingsbury], you've been given four perfectly OK 21-plate truck batteries, which he says should sustain 12 hours of standby power, even with the screen on). It is there to handle short power outages (<10 minutes) and then allow the machine to shut down cleanly.

There are two major types:

* Online [UPS] is constantly charging the battery from the mains and at the same time drawing power from the battery to run the computer(s).
* Offline [UPS] keeps a charged battery around to switch it inline when the power drops below a certain level.

Online [UPS] will therefore isolate your computer from any power spikes or brownouts, whereas offline [UPS] usually protects it against brownouts but hardly from spikes.

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See also [UPSNotes]

3 pages link to UPS:

Last edited on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 5:17:46 pm by AristotlePagaltzis

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