I have helpped build a couple of data centers and mange them afterward. Howards advice is good about the UPSes. But also monitor the UPSes with software, 3-4 years is right for some batteries, to long for others, and not long enough (there is still good left in them) for a few. ... Dynamic monitoring will tell you when to replace them.
You need about 10 minutes of 'uptime' on UPSes if you have automatic generator setup installed. I would look at your ENTIRE load (if you want to keep working, you will need a coffee pot and microwave too, also lights, but throw away the folks heaters they keep blazing under their desk year round. (Go buy some nice 'company blankets' they can wrap their feet in if it is 'to cold'. It is a cheap alternative to power.) There is safety lights that need to be on UPSes too. Do a spreadsheet of ALL your power requirements. Then segregate them into: MUST BE UP MUST BE UP TO DO BUSINESS NICE TO HAVE UNPLUG ME NOW Under desk heaters, lava and mood lamps, and coffee cup warmers go into 'UNPLUG ME NOW'. You shouldn't be doing that as a business anyway. MUST BE UP is your computers, network equipment, small or rack style UPSes. This is the most critical load. MUST BE UP TO DO BUSINESS includes environmentals (HVAC, general lighting (but turn most of it off), fans), desktop computers, laser printers. Desktop computers MAY be on their own UPSes (I suggest it) and monitored locally, or remotely. This category should NOT BE ON UPS, it should be on the generator power. NICE TO HAVE ... This is the fountain and 'glory lights' out front. This is everything that does not keep cash coming in the door within the next pay period. ... Sales droids get the day off. Now that you know how much power you need, before you get online and buy stuff, consider if it would be best to reduce power requiremnts first (go to blade servers sooner rather than later, or upgrade servers so you can consolidate sooner rather than later). What would a central big UPS that can be monitored and maintained rather than little 'rack' UPSes cost? Does it makes sense to consider it. UPSes have a power overhead of their own too. And monitoring software costs too. Don't do without monitoring it! It can also save on UPS maintenance (batery/capacitor/ MOV replacements). Consider having the building wiring 're-engineered'. So the 'nice to have' and 'unplug me now' power users are on their own upses or on commercial power only. Then the 'MUST BE UP TO DO BUSINESS" is on generator power and will be back in a few minutes if commercial power fails. The 'MUST BE UPS' must be ONLY plugged into the managed UPSes, and the UPSes MUST be on generator power just like the 'MUST BE UP TO DO BUSINESS' equipment. Now look at what kind of gen sets you need to 'keep it up'. Personally, I would rather have N+1 generators. If you need 2KW, get 3 1KW generators rated for continuous operation, with automatic control (and remote control and monitoring) available. If you need 10KW, think 3 5KW or 6 2KW generators. Enough so if one generator fails, you can keep in business. I would suggest having generators NOT come on until 30 or 45 seconds of commercial power is gone, then turn on and run for 3 to 5 minutes (to make sure they are running and synchronized) before taking on the UPS and 'MUST BE UP TO DO BUSINESS' load. Other things to consider are testing schedules, for UPSes, gensets, maintenance on all of that, fuel in case of extended power outages (24 to 72 hours of fuel on site already plumbed in?). Contract with fuel company to keep it 'topped off' after tests, also fuel testing (it goes bad if it stays stored to long), and commitment to be 'priority customer' in case of extended outage - the definition of extended outage depends on the size of your fuel tanks!). Then there are the permits, electrical, fuel storage, etc. depending on your localle. And another hot button of mine, doing backkups, testing backups, offsite storage of backups, and testing recovery from ONLY offsite backups and equipment. (do it every 6 months). ... I have an larger and longer diatribe on that. This kind of thing can cost or be done fairly economically with effort. That is economical compared to the cost of not being in business because you weren't prepared. We all hate to pay for insurance, and that is all this is. Now aren't you sorry I am on this mailing list :) IHS ... Jack On Fri, May 8, 2009 at 12:08 PM, Jonathan Moore <supermegat...@gmail.com>wrote: > > Hi guys. > > We're looking into getting a generator that can manage to keep the > organization going though a power outage. Our setup includes 10 > servers, a few switches and routers, and 12 workstations complete with > monitors. > > Any recommendations on where to find information on sizing a > generator? What information do I need to know from the servers to > best guess their power requirements? Any help would be appreciated. > > TIA > -jonathan > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NLUG" group. To post to this group, send email to nlug-talk@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to nlug-talk+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nlug-talk?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
