Posted: 6/12/2008 6:37:03 PM EDT
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With the storms rolling through this evening, my wife and I had to evacuate to the basement during a long tornado warning. Power went out, and we went about getting lighting set up. All of our major computer systems are on UPSs, so we had a few minutes to get things buttoned up. (That is three computer systems most of the time--two workstations and one server plus network equipment). I went to shut down the server about ten minutes after power failed. Problem one--as soon as the monitor popped to life, it overloaded the UPS and shut the server and all network equipment down. NOTE TO SELF: REPLACE CRT WITH LCD. REPLACE AGED UPS BATTERY. How to keep the network alive so we could use the laptop to keep an eye on weather and for communication? With the UPS there dead, I could have brought one of the other two UPSs from the workstations down, but I decided not to for now. I have two powrtable 12v "emergency jump starters" with accessory power sockets. I grabbed one and retrieved my power inverter from my car, giving me enough emergency power to run the DSL modem and the wireless router. I noticed both the router and the modem have 12v, 500 mA wall wart power supplies. NOTE TO SELF: CONSIDER A DIRECT 12V BACKUP POWER SYSTEM FOR THE MODEM AND ROUTER. Finally, having the laptop on low power mode would probably give me three hours of use, which could be stretched over the course of twelve to twenty four hours if necessary by keeping the lid shut (sleep mode) except when absolutely necessary. However, it would be useful to have enough power to run the computer for a day or so. NOTE TO SELF: CONSIDER A DEEP-CYCLE LEAD ACID BATTERY AND POWER INVERTER FOR MEDIUM-TERM EMERGENCY COMPUTER POWER. I had forgotten how dependent we have become on the computer systems. Oh, yeah, one thing I grabbed on the way to the basement was the portable hard drive with recent backup images of all of my computers. If all else was lost, we would be able to rebuild our data storage system (important work-related and personal files). The key lesson learned is to stop being complacent! It is easy to put off checking those backup systems until you're in the basement, in the dark, trying to watch the weather maps, and the backup power fails. |
| Good point. I learned the hard way the last time we lost power that my router wasn't plugged into the UPS like I thought. However, I also need to plug the Kill-O-Watt in to see what the LCD monitor and PC are actually drawing. Oh, and it's time to replace the UPS batteries. Thanks for the reminder! |
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I really love my 22" LCD during outages. Plenty of time to get everything else shut down. You may still be out of luck though, I'm not sure how reliable DSL is during power outages, but with my cable internet its always down before I am. Also, if you go with an inverter and deep-cycle battery get it installed correctly so that you don't end up with a buildup of hydrogen gas in your basement. |
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or just switch everything over to laptop. That is what I am planning to do- even my server. Course, Ill still have a desktop gaming rig, but everything else a laptop. If the power cuts out and you have a good battery on the laptop, you are good to go for at least 3 hours. ETA: you still need a solution for the router and cable/dsl modem |