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#246753 - 09/20/04 07:56 PM Technie ? - Surge Protectors vs Power Strip
AnnRoy Offline
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AnnRoy
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From an IT standpoint (and also attempting my first branch PC IT review as non-technie), when trying to verify that surge protectors are present on the PCs and printers at the branch lcoations, what's the physical or visible difference between the surge protector and the power strip? And which is better and why?
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eBanking / Technology
#246754 - 09/20/04 08:41 PM Re: Technie ? - Surge Protectors vs Power Strip
KrisH Offline
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AFAIK, Surge Protectors usually have those circuit breaker reset buttons on them (since they are supposed to break the circuit when it detects a power surge). However, and I'm no expert by any means, it is my understanding that the standard $15 surge protectors you can buy at Walmart or Home Depot are not really going to protect your network from serious surges. You're better of spending $75-$100 for a decent UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) which includes surge protection (I recently bought two from APC for my home network myself).

But going back to your original question, I *think* you need to look for that circuit reset button to distinguish between power strip and surge protector. Please someone else chime in and correct me if I'm wrong.
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#246755 - 09/20/04 08:41 PM Re: Technie ? - Surge Protectors vs Power Strip
blvsinangels Offline
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If I am understanding you correctly the power strip would be more like a glorified extension cord. Something you can plug multiple things into, but provides no surge protection. The surge protection will keep an even flow of current to whatever you have plugged in, regardless of whether you have a surge or drain. However, on occasion when a surge protector receives a hit, you must replace it, make sure to check for that.

What I feel is best to have is an UPS. This allows, depending on the type, up to 30 minutes of power to whatever is plugged in. It's kinda like a battery backup. This allows you to shut down computers and servers in the case of a power loss without damaging your equipment or losing documents.

Good Luck!

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#246756 - 09/20/04 08:57 PM Re: Technie ? - Surge Protectors vs Power Strip
AnnRoy Offline
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The file servers will have a UPS but is it cost effective or even feasible to have every PC in a bank (particularily a large bank) with a UPS? Would it be better to have the UPS on the thin clients vs physical PCs (if you have to make a decision as to which PCs "must have" a UPS?
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#246757 - 09/20/04 10:13 PM Re: Technie ? - Surge Protectors vs Power Strip
Andy_Z Offline
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Every PC does not need a UPS unless you want to prevent data loss during a power outage. But a good surge suppressor will cost more than a power strip and generally will have some guaranty with it that will pay $X for damage caused by the devices failure. If there is a modem connection to the PC, it will also go through that device.

I wouldn't put the average printer on a UPS at all. The UPS will cost more unless it is a good laser printer. As you replace surge protectors, I'd move the old ones down to older PCs and printers, if you opt to replace them.
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#246758 - 09/23/04 05:44 PM Re: Technie ? - Surge Protectors vs Power Strip
Chi Offline
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Quote:

The file servers will have a UPS but is it cost effective or even feasible to have every PC in a bank (particularily a large bank) with a UPS?




In a word, no. All of our workstations here have been configured (via scripting) to save all documents to our file server (even the desktop is stored remotely). A UPS system is really there to let you save all your documents and shut down properly, preventing loss of data and damage to systems. If this isn't the case I would definitely think about creating policiies (both user driven and hardware / software enforced) that force users to save data to the network. If not, UPS systems should be in place on all of your PCs to allow users to save data and then shut down properly.

Even then, you're still open to situations where internal components might get fried due to power surges.

Quote:

Would it be better to have the UPS on the thin clients vs physical PCs (if you have to make a decision as to which PCs "must have" a UPS?




Thin clients are designed so the bulk of the data processing occurs on the server, rather than the PC. I don't know how your thin clients are setup, so therefore I cannot give you an answer that will necessary suit your network's needs; however, if your thin clients are "by the book", I would back up PCs with UPSes before thin clients.

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