Rackmount UPS

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Octopuss

Active Member
Jun 30, 2019
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I have a small home server I built at the beginning of the year, and I would eventually like to get a proper rackmount UPS (right now I have one of the cheap ass APC ones and I am figuring out ways to have ESXi shut down with just usb connectivity available).
The server is not really power hungry, it only uses maybe 80W during boot and during normal operation goes down to 60W or so (though this will go up a bit after I add some more VMs).
I'd like to get an UPS that can keep it up for longer periods of time though since the outages here typically don't last half a day.
I was looking around and found Cyberpower PR1000ERT2U and APC Smart-UPS X 750VA thus far.
Which one would you choose?
I am also open for other recommendations.
Was looking into Eaton previously, but that's way too expensive for me.

Basically, I'd like to keep the price around or under $600 equivalent (new). I'd prefer 2nd hand stuff if it's not too ancient and loud (the rack is directly to my wife's desk and I don't have a death wish just yet).

Obviously, the UPS should have some network connectivity for management purposes. Cyberpower seems to have this by default and APC management card can be had for a few bucks off Ebay.
 

BeTeP

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Mar 23, 2019
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If you do not care about the "official ESXi support" and just want your server shut down properly in case of power failure - then use a Raspberry Pi to monitor your existing UPS over USB and control the server over ssh.
 

PD_ZFS-User

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Jul 13, 2018
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Octopuss,

Sorry if this is late to your need, but here is a link to Paul Braren's detailed explanation of using the Cyberpower VM appliance (mentioned above by gregsachs) for an ESXi host connected by USB to a Cyberpower UPS to detect power loss and to automate shutdown. He's not using a rackmount UPS. But his coverage might lead you to the solution you need. How to use a CyberPower UPS solution for proper automated shutdown of your VMware ESXi lab during power outages, including all VMs | TinkerTry IT @ Home

Hope this helps,
PD
 
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int0x2e

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Dec 9, 2015
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Not to discourage you, but very long run times using UPS isn't something that's easy to achieve unless you go for a Tesla powerwall or a DIY equivalent, which won't be cheap.
There's a reason most datacenters usually get a UPS that can hold up for a few minutes while their generators start up, then they automatically switch over to the generators, rather than trying to survive on UPS alone.
For loads that aren't super small, I think you'll find that generators start making sense after a surprisingly short run time objective...
 

Octopuss

Active Member
Jun 30, 2019
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Not to discourage you, but very long run times using UPS isn't something that's easy to achieve unless you go for a Tesla powerwall or a DIY equivalent, which won't be cheap.
There's a reason most datacenters usually get a UPS that can hold up for a few minutes while their generators start up, then they automatically switch over to the generators, rather than trying to survive on UPS alone.
For loads that aren't super small, I think you'll find that generators start making sense after a surprisingly short run time objective...
Have you noticed I was talking about a home server and a rack sitting in the corner of a living room?
What generator? Jeez, man!
 

int0x2e

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Dec 9, 2015
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Have you noticed I was talking about a home server and a rack sitting in the corner of a living room?
What generator? Jeez, man!
First off - sorry I wasn't being helpful...
I had somewhat similar hopes in the past for keeping my network camera setup running off batteries for a long time during power outages and got the impression you might be on a similar path, sorry if I was so way off...
 

Blinky 42

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Aug 6, 2015
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If you want long (> 2h ) run times on battery I would go with one of the UPSs that you can add the extra battery packs onto. Many of the rack mount APC's and Eaton model can do that, and the more batteries, the more runtime.
Example https://www.eaton.com/us/en-us/catalog/backup-power-ups-surge-it-power-distribution/eaton-5px-ups.html

For 1500w their 5PX1000RT + 4 "EBM" extra battery modules = 16h+ of runtime
Battery Runtimes for Eaton https://www.eaton.com/us/en-us/skuPage.5PX1000RT.html

I have a lot of APC units, BackUPS and SmartUPS versions. Have had issues with a few of the non-rackmount 1500VA SmartUPS models that the charging circuits get out of whack much faster than they should, or outright failed but still single digit % overall over ~20 years of using them. Many were used 5+ years old when I got them and I suspect the excess of dust buildup from sitting under desks for years didn't help matters.

Most recently I have started buying Eaton UPS's if buying new, seem fine so far but not had multiple years of experience yet for good comparison. The lithium ones might be nice but far to spendy for me.
 

mb300sd

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Aug 1, 2016
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Anything that accepts external batteries works great if you want super long run times. They're pretty much all standard lead acid packs, so you can get a large bank of cheap golf cart batteries and hook them up in parallel (make sure you match the voltage). I have a couple 240V GE VH2000 units where the internal batteries have died, and they're perfectly happy hooked up to 12 6v golf cart batteries. These are nice because they use a standard Anderson SB50 connector for the batteries. Lasted through a 6+ hour outage before.
 

ww2planes1

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Mar 26, 2018
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Not sure if I'm late to this party or not, but I figured I'd throw in some information based on my experiences.

I have two UPSs, a CyberPower PR750LCDRTXL2U that I got new in 2014 and an APC Smart-UPS SMT1500RM2U that I got used last year, the UPS itself was made in 2011.

I have no complaints about either and I would recommend both brands. However, if you choose to buy used, make sure you know the state of the batteries. Replacement batteries can be close to half the cost of the new UPS, and on my APC UPS the battery was completely shot (it was only 7 years old at the time) and I paid more for the new cells than I did for the UPS itself. It was still half the cost of a new one, so it was a great deal, but it's something to be aware of before you buy.

On the topic of noise, both of my UPSs are nearly silent at idle, but when they're supporting a load or charging back up after a power outage, the fan will kick in and it gets loud. However, noise is not really a concern at that point.

When it comes to runtime, either UPS would offer about the same runtime for a given load (since they both use 4x 12V SLA cells of the same physical size), and based on your load and the runtime graphs, 1-2hrs of runtime should be achievable with a brand new battery pack. My CyberPower claimed to be able to do close to 4 hours on a 40W load when the batteries were new, but I never actually tested it. The external battery connection might be a good feature for you to consider if you're talking about frequent longer duration power outages. You can decide if the UPS is enough, and if not, just add more.

One last thing, I don't think that the CyberPower does have the built in network connectivity. It supports USB and RS232, but like the APC, it needs an add-on card to get the network connection.
 
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T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
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Have you noticed I was talking about a home server and a rack sitting in the corner of a living room?
What generator? Jeez, man!
I don't need that long runtime :D
You did mention half day... even doing a UPS dedicated to your one server isn't going to yield half-day run time.
I run my network gear off a basic desktop sized UPS and it can go ~12-20hrs depending on battery, and run my own desktop on a APC with extended run-time external battery pack and can get ~1hr if I'm lucky with my power hungry dual monitors.

I deal with power outages a lot, and within 10m if power is not back up I start my generator (Honda 2kW) that sips power, ~.8 to 1.2G per-day, and can run lights, fridge, workstation, etc all day.

If you want extended run time in the 12hr range then yes, IMHO, you need a generator. A DIY solution will cost as much\more... I'm working on a solar + battery bank now for off-grid \ extended grid issues, and batteries alone will cost more than the generator, hard to spend $ on it..lol
 

Octopuss

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Jun 30, 2019
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Maybe I wasn't, "internally", that serious when I wrote half a day, heh. Half a work day would be possible though, with the current power draw of the server! :)
Four hours at less than 90W power draw I assume would cover even the rare unusually long outages around here (and those happen maybe twice a year...). But if I can't do that with a "regular" 2U-sized UPS, I'll settle for two as well. I have my research written down somewhere - it's been a few weeks and I successfully forgot everything I found out :D
 

Octopuss

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fossxplorer

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Mar 17, 2016
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What is that Honda model?



You did mention half day... even doing a UPS dedicated to your one server isn't going to yield half-day run time.
I run my network gear off a basic desktop sized UPS and it can go ~12-20hrs depending on battery, and run my own desktop on a APC with extended run-time external battery pack and can get ~1hr if I'm lucky with my power hungry dual monitors.

I deal with power outages a lot, and within 10m if power is not back up I start my generator (Honda 2kW) that sips power, ~.8 to 1.2G per-day, and can run lights, fridge, workstation, etc all day.

If you want extended run time in the 12hr range then yes, IMHO, you need a generator. A DIY solution will cost as much\more... I'm working on a solar + battery bank now for off-grid \ extended grid issues, and batteries alone will cost more than the generator, hard to spend $ on it..lol
 

T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
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What is that Honda model?
Honda EU2000i they have the new EU2200i now too, I haven't used that one yet.
I have 2 of the Eu2000i with 100s of hours on both running my home\office for days or weeks at a time.