[Hardware][Linux, not Funtoo-specific] UPS recommendation for small server

[stamasd]

I finally got around to start building a small file server for my home network. Nothing fancy or expensive, small motherboard, i5 4-core, 16GB RAM, SATA card and an array of 4 HDDs in RAID5. And a small case with a 350W PSU which should be plenty.

Now, the most expensive part of this is the disk array, and I want to protect it from power surges, brownouts etc so I will add a UPS as well. I go get brownouts occasionally maybe 4-5 times a year, and major power outages 1-2 times a year.

I want to keep things cheap enough, and yet have good Linux support for graceful shutdowns. I've been looking at a couple of UPS units that I can get at Costco, the Cyberpower XC625 (625VA/375W) for $45, and its bigger brother Cyberpower LE850G (850 VA / 460 W) for $75.

There is a (binary-only) daemon available from the manufacturer https://www.cyberpowersystems.com/product/ups/pc-battery-backup/le850g/#tab-documents and it looks like it's exactly the same for both. I don't know how well that works though.

I've looked at other software, like Network UPS Tools https://networkupstools.org - the smaller unit is poorly supported, the larger one has somewhat better support.

 

Does anyone have experience with either of the above in Linux? Or can you recommend another one with good support and in the same price range? I don't need it to do anything extraordinary, just initiate a clean shutdown at power loss, maybe with a delay of a few minutes in case it's just temporary.

 

(Funtoo will boot from a small SSD independent of the RAID array, in case that matters - which it shouldn't)

Edited May 17, 2020 by stamasd

[tczaude]

Hi ups for me is important. And i prefer give sometimes more money tor this component.

I don't know how is working yours models. i always use power Walker with full sinus. For quality is good price. With drivers this another topic. In mostly i have one windows system which sent by ssh shotdown to rest host. Ethernet is extra payed. I don't check yet drivers direct to Linux over usb.

 

One thinks look on decibels when chose better ups becouse inverter is always work and in chipest models noise is terbile

[nrc]

I use Cyberpower UPSs and I run their utility.   I installed from the tarball download and everything worked with no problem.  I like the fact that it lets me turn off the UPS alarm which drives our dogs nuts.   I must admit that I've never been around when it has reached the point of shutdown and I've never verified the shutdown from the log files.  

[stamasd]

Thank you both for the input. Noise is not a problem as the server and the UPS will be installed in a remote corner of my basement. I don't plan to have any Windows machine supervise the Linux server or the UPS for many reasons. ?

Looks like I'll go with the larger unit, just to have the open-source package as an alternative (and also to allow me to grow the server if needed).

I'll post back if any problems arise.

[dkg]

First, if you haven't, I suggest reading up a little on passive vs. active PFC, waveform, etc.  Second, my (older) CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD works a treat with apcupsd.  From what I've seen, at least some newer CyberPower models work, as well, though I don't think there is an exhaustive list anywhere.  It looks as though the LE850G uses USB for communication, so I think chances are good it will work.