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Questions about power and the necessity of UPS (alien.top)

submitted 1 year ago by BeardedBears@alien.top to c/homelab@selfhosted.forum

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Newbie here. I'm looking to set up a rack for better networking gear, my PC's, some Raspberry Pi's, and eventually a NAS. One thing I see everywhere are UPS battery backups.

I've never used a UPS in my entire PC life, and I've experienced a handful of power outages when I'm using my computer. I do use a (probably cheap) surge protector, though. Nothing bad has ever happened. Am I just lucky? Is an unexpected power-outage event for a NAS or Network gear any worse than for a PC? Or if I'm merely lucky, are the dice rolls for damage basically the same? Are there "smart" (ugh) UPS that detect power outages and automatically begin shutting everything down safely?

Also, I don't (think) I want or need my gear to be on all the time. I don't see why I'd need a NAS filled with recreational media to be on when I'm asleep. So what's all this hub-bub about continuous uptime on home networks? Do NAS drives prefer to be on 24/7? Do folks power down their servers every night?

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[–] unixuser011@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it

I'd rather have power in case of an emergency than be in the dark

[–] JLee50@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

Specifically for a lab it's less of an issue. I run UPSs at my network equipment/NAS and at desks at home - with people working from home & also cameras recording to the NAS, a power hit would be problematic.

[–] FinsToTheLeftTO@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

NAS devices are typically used by multiple users, that’s why they are network attached and not direct attached to a single computer. Yes, you can shut it down when not in use but it defeats many purposes of a NAS in the first place. A NAS losing power at most will lose data and at the least will require a scan at startup.

Pretty much all UPS units have a USB connector that will plug into the NAS and shutdown the system when the battery is low.

[–] persiusone@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

Interesting. I've been in IT for over 30 years and have always used UPS systems. Never had data loss as a result of power issues. Also, it cleans the power a bit and I get a lot of life from my hardware. Plus, I dont have to worry at all, it works as intended. My entire lab has redundant UPS systems backed by a large generator ... Zero downtime is nice.

[–] Nick_W1@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

A proper UPS protects against bad power, surges, brownouts and reclosure events. So it’s not just about shutting down gracefully (but that too), but also protecting your expensive equipment.

Nothing wrecks your equipment and data faster than the power going off and on three times in 10 seconds.