NAS + UPS / Advice Needed.

[FenFox]

New to UPS here, and I'm just trying to figure it all out...

I'd like to have these items plugged into my UPS:
-Desktop computer
-NAS
-1-2 external HDDs.
Maybe:
-Monitor
-At some point I may want to get the 5 bay expansion unit for my NAS (DX517). I assume I'd need to calculate/factor in the wattage/VA of the expansion unit when buying a UPS?
Don't need:
-Router/Modem - 2-in-1 unit supplied to me via my ISP. Don't care if anything happens to it as they'll replace it for free.

Based on these items, how many watts/VA do you think I'd need?

1.) I prefer using something that can auto-shutdown my equipment when the power is cut. I only need a UPS that will keep the power online long enough for my devices to auto-shutdown.

2.) In addition to a power outage damaging data, can a power outage also damage/corrupt an OS like Windows or DSM?

3.) Can you really lose/corrupt disk data even if the platter isn't reading/writing at the time of a power outage?

3.) I sometimes notice what appears to be "brownouts" where my lights will flicker for half a second in my room when a roommate starts up a washing machine. Is it a big deal to protect against? If so, I should get a UPS with a Line-interactive?

4.) I checked out the APC UPS calculator. Do you guys trust "configure by device" > Select Desktop/Monitor to provide the correct VA/Watts?

5.) Is this accurate? "Buy a UPS with a Volt/Amp rating 50-75% above whatever the typical wattage load from electronics will be."

7.) From using an online volts-to-watts calculator is this accurate?

a.) External HDD = 12V DC 3 AMP = 36 Watts (vA)
b.) Monitor = 100-240V 1.5 AMP = (Not sure how to calculate two different voltage values?).
c.) NAS = Synolgy DS918+ = 12V 8.33 AMP = 100 Watts (Does this value change depending on the HDDs you're using?)
Because I notice for the expansion unit: "Power consumption is measured when fully loaded with Western Digital 1TB WD10EFRX hard drive(s)." And I'll be using 10 TB drives, not 1 TBs.
d.) Computer (according to APC) = 175 Watts. Seems kinda low...

 

[arnemetis]

Well I'm no pro but I've got six of them myself so I should be able to get you going.

1) Most any ups will come with a communication cable (usually usb) that can tell your computer to safely shut down via its software. This is usually either after a set amount of time has passed on battery power, or based on how much capacity is left in the ups. However I do not think you can split this cable to handle shutting down multiple systems (your desktop and nas) at the same time. You may have to consider getting two units to be able to handle shutting down both (and pay careful attention to ensure the manufacturer has software to shut down the nas.)

2) The reason data gets damaged is because it was being written during the power outage, so it's obviously going ot be in an incomplete state. This means it shouldn't affect static data like movie files for example, but it will affect live data like windows system files. It's very much the same, in fact I'd say it's more likely for an os to be corrupted due to a file that was being written being left in an incomplete state during a power outage.

3) Really the OS is always writing, but I think what can also happen is the source of the power outage. If it was a power spike, that could be the source of damage, and a surge protector / ups / even your psu should protect against minor ones.

4) Absolutely not. Reply with the specs of your desktop to give a better idea, but basically a gaming rig will draw a lot more (during gaming) than not, and a whole lot more than a typical office pc at idle. For example my rig in my signature at idle draws 216 watts, it draws 370 watts while the cpu is mostly inactive but I'm mining on my gpu 100%, and it draws 560 watts running prime95 and gpu mining 100%. My file server (which includes 17 drives, a power hungry raid card, ryzen 1700x, and an old gtx 9800+) idles around 173 watts.

5) By buying one with a higher rating, you give yourself more run time (and them more money.) So for example again, my server is using 173 watts of power, on a 1500va ups. It has an estimated 28 minutes of run time at this load. My pc is at 414 watts right now, and on it's own 1500va ups, I have an estimated 12 minutes of run time. There's a very direct relationship between load and va capacity. My 625va ups for my router and switch will provide a few hours of wifi in a power outage, long after my pcs have shut down, as they draw so much less power.

7) Every piece of equipment is going to be different, it's going to be difficult to give you an accurate answer. From my real life answers above, you can see that even my decently high end file server is drawing what they consider a computer. Hard drive power draw is minimal, it isn't going to make a big difference. The biggest difference would be between 7200rpm and 5400rpm honestly, it's less important the capacity of the drives.

I would say start watching out for sales. Pick up two 800va+ units, one for your pc and one for your nas. Again make sure it has software that can run on your nas's particular operating system, and can interface with your nas by usb or whatever. You aren't looking for long runtime, you don't need the extra beefy stuff. Even my gaming pc fully loaded would last several minutes on 800va. I don't recommend going much lower, as the capacity drops in a non linear fashion with ups's. Also you probably don't need a pure sinewave unit, I have two pcs with active pfc and they work fine on simulated sine wave units (pure sine wave models are advertised as being good for active pfc power supplies, it's marketing bs to sell the more expensive units.)

 

[Grebuloner]

I've got most of my machines on UPSes. You don't specify your computer's specs so I'm not sure what power draw you need. That said, if it isn't a powerhouse of a system, you can likely run the NAS and PC on the same UPS if it is large enough. I run my file server and an overclocked HEDT with GPU off the same 1500VA/900W UPS without any problem and well below max load. Depending on the model you can get dual system control in one unit. I use Cyberpower CP1500PFCLCDs which have USB and serial control, and by plugging one computer into USB and the other into serial (which requires software, USB shows up as a battery) both are set to shut down after a minute of no power. You can set it longer depending on capacity and your situation, where I live with shitty-but-improving rural power, if the outage lasts more than a few seconds it will be out for hours.

I have experienced lots of brownouts and power on/off slamming (that will freak you out!), and both will kill your equipment without a UPS, as they did to mine. Brownouts will go through surge protectors, now I can see the voltage drop off and the UPS click on to provide stable power/voltage until the event ends or the power goes out.

 

[arnemetis]

I've got most of my machines on UPSes. You don't specify your computer's specs so I'm not sure what power draw you need. That said, if it isn't a powerhouse of a system, you can likely run the NAS and PC on the same UPS if it is large enough. I run my file server and an overclocked HEDT with GPU off the same 1500VA/900W UPS without any problem and well below max load. Depending on the model you can get dual system control in one unit. I use Cyberpower CP1500PFCLCDs which have USB and serial control, and by plugging one computer into USB and the other into serial (which requires software, USB shows up as a battery) both are set to shut down after a minute of no power. You can set it longer depending on capacity and your situation, where I live with shitty-but-improving rural power, if the outage lasts more than a few seconds it will be out for hours.

I have experienced lots of brownouts and power on/off slamming (that will freak you out!), and both will kill your equipment without a UPS, as they did to mine. Brownouts will go through surge protectors, now I can see the voltage drop off and the UPS click on to provide stable power/voltage until the event ends or the power goes out.

I didn't know you could run off the usb and serial at the same time! That's pretty cool and should serve the OP well then.

 

[Meeho]

Many UPSes have/support software that can act like master or slave, so one computer connected to the UPS can send shutdown commands to multiple computers on the network.

 

[Zepher]

Everything in this picture is plugged into an APC BR1300 UPS (Yoda is sitting on the UPS). uses around 330 watts at idle, maybe 550 watts when I game.
Specs are in my sig, Gaming Machine and Plex Server,

 

[SamirD]

So I'm a little late to the party, but I wanted to add on some of the great information already here.

To give you some background, I have probably a dozen or more UPSs on equipment all over my parents house--everything from power hungry rack mount servers, to old p4 desktops, to lga775 desktops, to my mom's breathing machine. We experience regular power glitches due to thunderstorms and tornados.

In addition to this location, I have to make sure power is okay at one of our businesses which includes expensive point of sale systems, stand-alone interface controllers, and nvrs and dvrs.

I've been working with UPSs, mainly APC branded since the early 1990s when we first started using them in the hotel industry since the industry had shifted to completely electronic cash register and key systems. Without UPSs, we could literally lose $1000/hr without them. These weren't high-drain devices, but they needed the best power money could buy so I got to see the high-end side of UPSs.

So, what I would look at considering your requirements is something with twice as much va capacity as you would need for a shutdown as well as a full sine wave/line interactive type if you can afford it. Sure, it's expensive and may not be necessary, but when the real bad stuff comes down your line--heavy brownouts, multiple quick on and off sequences, nearby lightning strikes, you'll have a bit more peace of mind.

I haven't messed much with the UPS interfaces, so as mentioned previously in the thread, be sure that whatever hardware you want to shut down is compatible with the UPS you're thinking about getting. And I like using multiple UPSs for multiple devices as smaller units are generally cheaper, lighter to move if need be, and allows each piece of hardware to run as long as it needs to.

I think the previously mentioned 800va x 2 recommendation is spot-on. And even though you say you don't care about the isp provided equipment. Think of this--even though power may be off, usually Internet will still work if the equipment is on. So even after everything shuts down, if you have even the most basic UPS on the router/modem/wifi, you can still have Internet access on a tablet and watch a movie until the power comes back. (It can be very boring without power!).