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What is an Uninterruptible Power Supply?

Join us as we discuss the basics of power back ups over the next few posts.  We’re going to keep these posts short and simple.  Please leave questions in the comments.

What is an Uninterruptible Power Supply?


uninterruptible power supply

An uninterruptible power supply, also known as a UPS, battery backup or power back up is a device that provides power to attached equipment when the utility power goes out. The main idea of a UPS is to provide instant power without interruption to the attached devices. That way, the computer or server attached will not lose power but will continue running uninterrupted.

Common Names for Uninterruptible Power Supplies:

–          Uninterruptible Power Supply

–          Uninterrupted Power Supply

–          Battery Backup

–          Power Backup

–          UPS Backup

–          UPS

All of the above terminology basically means the same thing. So if you want be part of the cool club, call it a “UPS”.  How do you pronounce that? That’s a great question, it’s pronounced like the shipping company, “UPS”.  It’s not pronounced like the “UPS” in the diapers “Pull Ups”.

What are Uninterruptible Power Supplies used for?

–          Computers

–          Servers

–          Data centers

–          Telecom equipment (voip, pbx, phone system)

–          Medical Equipment

–          POS Equipment (cash registers, debit machines)

–          ATM, ABM

and every other piece of equipment that can be harmed or cause harm by suddenly losing power. You might not have noticed them before, but they’re pretty much everywhere. Your local bank has them, the grocery store and your internet service provider.

In the next few posts, we are going to discuss:

  • Different types of UPSs
  • Main Features
  • Power Problems

If you have any questions please post them in the comments or post them up on our Q&A Site

Filed Under: Guides Tagged With: battery backup, power backup, uninterrupted power supply, uninterruptible power supply, ups

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