UPS Hardware
Long term lurker, first time poster.
So i'm currently running a Dual Xeon SuperMicro X7DBE with 12 HDs in a large tower case. (I think a 650, but maybe 750 PSU, i've forgotten), and Just gotten an Intel NUC i7 (150W) last week.
I'm really loving the NUC, especially as I'm in an apartment and can keep it tucked away all quiet like.
My plan is to get a couple more NUCs and build up my kubernetes cluster but I really want to get an UPS for the entire group. But I really don't know anything about UPSes.
How do I know what to buy? Looking at https://www.cyberpower.com/au/en/product/sku/CP1500EPFCLCDa (Which someone mentioned in another post),
Wattage: I would assume that I need to have enough wattage for 150x# of nucs, and then depending if i want to use the same unit, another 750W.
VA: More about total capacity?
I'm mostly looking for safe power flow, and safe shutdown in the case of power outages.
Posted Jan 7, 2019, 6:47 AM UTC
I have a few of that exact UPS and have zero complaints.
The only real downside is that it connects to a computer (for monitoring and safe shutdown) via USB or Serial, not LAN. The Cyberpower software itself doesn't seem to be able to run a script when it has a problem. But, they do support 3rd party monitoring. So, you could use that and ssh or something to shut down multiple computers cleanly on power loss.
You do want one with filtered sine wave output, and those are among the most cost efficient. I've seen a couple that didn't do sine-wave outputs that would trigger a reboot on some PSUs when switching from wall power to battery. Those...seem to work just fine for me.
As for how much power you need, both the display on the unit and the cyberpower software will show you your actual power draw. I'd start with one and see what the draw and expected runtime is like under a realistic situation. PSUs rarely draw their rated power from the wall.
As an example, the one I have for my desktop (500W PSU, plus a sit/stand desk, 2 300W audio amplifiers, 2 200W subwoofers, an audio interface, and my screen, all on the battery side of the unit) shows >60 minutes of runtime at idle and <120W power draw. Under load, it drops to like 30 minutes runtime.
If you're wondering...the audio stuff is on the UPS so things can shut down cleanly rather than a power outage potentially damaging the audio equipment.
I have another one in my server room and will probably add a second pretty soon (just so I can run a redundant PSU off different UPSs, not because I need more power).
I recommend to check NUT (Network UPS Tools). It works on both Windows and Linux. It has client/server architecture: you can easily point client to other computer, so all computers powered from one UPS can know when to shutdown. It even can monitor multiple UPS in case you have redundant PSU connected to different CPU. One "downside": it is configure by text files.
That's not a downside. But, I'll definitely check it out.
I did say "downside" in quotation :)
Fair enough. It looks interesting.
The only things plugged in would be Linux servers.
Thanks so much, this is super useful info.
Does it interface with the standard Linux ups tools? I think there's a built in daemon right? I have to do more research and find a Canadian distributor
The man page for upsd shows a driver for it. I haven't looked into it all that specifically, so I won't guarantee it.
Research (not experience) shows they should work with just about everything.
The man page for upsd shows a driver for it. I haven't looked into it all that specifically, so I won't guarantee it.
Research (not experience) shows they should work with just about everything.
is https://www.amazon.ca/CyberPower-CP1500PFCLCD-Sinewave-Outlets-Mini-Tower/dp/B00429N19W/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1546905021&sr=8-3&keywords=ups+sinewave essentially the same thing? I realized the previous link was AU
https://www.amazon.ca/APC-Back-UPS-Sinewave-Protector-BR1500MS/dp/B0779LDRWZ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1546905021&sr=8-4&keywords=ups+sinewave is only slightly more expensive, but does have the network port. Is that a better idea? or is it better to stick with cyberpower?
APC is good too. In the US, there's a significant price jump b/t cyperpower and APC, which is why I haven't had an APC since high school when I somehow wound up with a used one. It didn't seem worth it.
As for the APC being better...IDK. Check out what software it has. I'd probably still use a computer or VM and a script to shut everything down if it were me, so I haven't looked at how it actually works.
"Gigabit" ports on the left are just protection for PC Ethernet card and "Data port" on the right is probably for proprietary COM from APC. I use this model: https://www.amazon.ca/APC-Smart-UPS-SmartConnect-Uninterruptible-SMT750C/dp/B074P4NJWL/r and it's ok. Linux can manage it easily with
apcupsd, through I'm currently testing NUT as it allows informing multiple computer on UPS state (by network). I think this: https://www.amazon.ca/APC-Smart-UPS-SmartConnect-Uninterruptible-SMC1000C/dp/B078D6KZ98 is newer model (it has less buttons on front).Used APC UPS are often available for fraction of the cost of new one. Also replacement batteries can be bought cheaply (I do not recommend cheapest ones: the have low quality and are potentially dangerous. One of better brands is CSB) if you do not mind ungluing connector from original.
Sinus sinewave is definitely desired for all relatively new equipment (you can google about problems with "active pfc approximated sinewave").
It describes USP capacity, similarly to wattage, but in different way because of how measuring power works with AC. It is often preferred by manufacturers because it is bigger number than wattage. You should probably just look at wattage, unless you have very old equipment with very low power factor (in which case you might actually want UPS with stepped/aproxiamted sinewave).
Get some power measuring tool (something like "kill a watt", with power factor measurement) and check how much you equipment use with fully loaded CPU. It will be probably much less than 150W. UPS can usually cope with up to about 10% overload (I'm not entirely sure about this) and you probably won't have 100% usage of every one NUC. That said, bigger UPS is usually better: