Austin Lane

As a network support professional, I go into locations where all of the PCs are connected to power either directly to the plug in the wall, or through one of those “Power Strips” that are sometimes referred to as “Surge Protectors”. Most of these are of the low-cost variety that were picked-up at your favorite office supply store, or discount retailer. According to APC, the undisputed industry leader in power protection, these low-cost surge protectors may not really provide an adequate level of protection. They may not sufficiently block extra voltage. Many of these low-cost surge protectors lack accreditation, and agency approvals, because there is no process to guarantee that these devices meet electrical codes.

How does this affect my PC?

Imagine that you are sitting at your desk and are typing some long legal document and have not saved it in a while. Without your knowledge, there is a huge thunderstorm moving into the area. With this storm comes a huge amount of lightning. Let’s assume that there is a lightning strike nearby. This lightning strike affects the electrical grid enough that it turns off all the lights and computers in your office, but only for a second. When your computer comes back on, you notice that everything is working correctly, but those changes that you just made to your document are missing. You think you are okay, and try to duplicate the changes you just made to the best of your memory. But wait, did you remember to change everything that you had done before? Do these changes affect the legal meaning of your document?

If this has never happened to you, then you are either very lucky, or utilize a UPS for your computer equipment. A UPS, or Uninterruptable Power Supply, provides the surge protection that more expensive surge protectors provide as well as a battery backup. This battery backup may only last a few minutes before it runs out of power, but it allows you to save your work and then safely shut down your computer. With your computer and monitor plugged-in to a UPS, you can be sure that whenever the next power outage or power fluctuation strikes, your computer will be safe and you will have time to save your work that may have otherwise been lost.

Check out APC’s line of UPSs at APC.com. If you are interested in Austin Lane Technologies, Inc.’s ability to support your corporate network, Contact Us.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 30th, 2007 at 9:40 am and is filed under Browsers, Construction, Email, Internet, Mobile Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.