Firstly, what is an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS)?  It’s nothing more than a battery back-up combined with some clever software that can provide emergency power when your normal power supply has failed.

So how does it benefit a small business?  If you’re running a server without a UPS and the power goes off, the server will suddenly stop working which can cause a variety of problems such as a hard-disk crash.  A hard-disk crash could be very severe and result in your server not working or the loss of your business data.

If you’d had a UPS in place the server (and software) would have kept your server running when the main power went off.  If the UPS batteries reach a point where they are running low and the mains power has not returned the server will gracefully close itself down.  Thereby, reducing the risk of hardware problems.

I’d always recommend using a UPS if you have a server.  In fact, it should be an essential item for any business with a server.

You may also want to consider a UPS if you’re running a simple peer-to-peer network where data is held on one PC and accessed by other PCs on the same peer-to-peer network.

If you need any advice then please contact me at david@bluegrasscs.com