Unless you run a massive rack-mounted Xeon server, your networking gear probably doesn't draw a lot of power.I can't think of a situation where someone I know plugged their router into the wall and tripped a breaker or shorted out their home.But, even though your networking devices aren't a danger to your electrical setup, they can still be in danger themselves.
Worse yet, they're all the kinds of things you want to be stable rather than left up to luck.A power surge can mean the end for your networking gear You have to protect the gear, not the power lines Close A surge protector isn't infallible.In fact, using an old one can be bad news! But it sure is better than not having one at all.
It might not be the first thing you think of when securing networking gear, though, and I get it.When buying a surge protector, most of us think of the power-hungry, expensive, hard-to-replace stuff we own.In my case, I always get stuck thinking about my graphics card (and no wonder, given their prices are outrageous these days).
But networking gear deserves protection from a power surge just the same as your expensive PC or NAS does.A power surge increases voltage, and even though your router doesn't use a lot of power, it'll still not be happy when it's struck by a surge.Depending on the severity, you might find it causes damage to your router's power supply, or even the router itself.
It can also damage other networking gear plugged into the same outlet.The solution is simple: don't plug your router into the wall.Use a surge protector; they're cheap.
Anker 2100J 12-Port Surge Protector Number of Outlets 12 Surge Suppression Rating 2,100J A reputable surge protector is all you need, and Anker's gives you 12 ports plus a 20W USB-C port and two USB-A ports.What's not to love? $30 at Amazon Expand Collapse Brownouts can still be a problem even if your network sort of survives They're supremely annoying, that's for sure Look, you can't miss a blackout, and you can't miss a power surge, but a brownout? It's possible.Voltage will drop below its normal level for a while.
Your networking gear might not even fully disconnect.Maybe your internet will just slow down for a bit, and if you're gaming, you might lag and disconnect.But it's not going to be a full-blown disaster.
That doesn't make it any better, though.If this happens often enough, it'll send you down a spiral of network troubleshooting, and all these attempts will come up fruitless.A power surge protector won't keep you safe from this, either.
You'll need a line-interactive UPS with automatic voltage regulation (AVR) instead.Related Don't trash your old router: Turn it into a wired workhorse instead Wi-Fi standards moved on, but your old router can still do something useful Posts By Monica J.White A short outage doesn't mean it'll just be a few seconds Your router probably takes ages to reboot ...
mine does This one is my nemesis.Where I live, we had a period of time where very brief power cuts were pretty standard.Think 10-20 seconds at a time.
Thankfully, that's now been resolved, but I've still lived through that—and it was so frustrating.My PC stayed on just fine thanks to being connected to a UPS, but my router and all that jazz did not.I can live with a 10-20 second internet outage (depending on circumstances), but it was never just 10-20 seconds, though.
Before my router rebooted, minutes passed.This is one of the biggest reasons why I bought a UPS for my networking gear.I don't want to have to go through a whole router restart when it could just stay online through these router hiccups.
Quiz8 Questions · Test Your KnowledgeSurge protectors, UPS devices, and powerTrivia challengeDo you really know how to protect your PC from the grid? Test your knowledge of power surges, brownouts, and backup power.Power SafetyHardwareUPSElectricityProtectionBegin01 / 8Power SafetyWhat is a power surge, in the context of computing?AA sudden drop in voltage that causes a PC to restartBA brief spike in voltage that exceeds the normal level delivered to your devicesCA complete loss of power lasting more than one secondDA gradual increase in power consumption by aging componentsCorrect! A power surge is a sudden, brief spike in voltage above the standard level — typically 120V in North America.These spikes can damage sensitive electronics by overwhelming their internal components with more electricity than they were designed to handle.Not quite.A power surge specifically refers to a brief spike in voltage above normal levels.
Voltage drops are called brownouts, and complete power loss is a blackout — two different (but equally dangerous) problems for your PC.Continue02 / 8ElectricityWhat is the difference between a brownout and a blackout?AA brownout is a complete power failure; a blackout is a partial voltage reductionBA brownout affects only commercial buildings; a blackout affects residential areasCA brownout is an intentional or accidental voltage reduction; a blackout is a complete loss of powerDThere is no meaningful difference — both terms describe the same eventCorrect! A brownout is a reduction in voltage — intentional by utility companies during peak demand, or accidental due to grid stress — while a blackout is a total loss of power.Brownouts are actually dangerous for computers because low voltage can cause components to work harder and overheat.Not quite.A brownout means voltage is reduced but power is still present, while a blackout is a complete outage.
Brownouts are often overlooked but can be just as damaging to computers as full outages, since components struggle under low-voltage conditions.Continue03 / 8HardwareWhat does a basic surge protector use internally to absorb excess voltage?AA ceramic capacitorBA metal oxide varistor (MOV)CA lithium-ion battery cellDA Zener diode arrayCorrect! Most surge protectors rely on metal oxide varistors (MOVs) to clamp excess voltage and divert it safely to the ground wire.MOVs degrade over time with each surge they absorb, which is why surge protectors don't last forever — even if they still pass power.Not quite.The key component in most surge protectors is a metal oxide varistor, or MOV.
It works by becoming conductive when voltage spikes, diverting the excess energy away from your devices.The downside is that MOVs wear out silently, meaning an old surge protector may offer no real protection.Continue04 / 8UPSWhat does UPS stand for in the context of computer power protection?AUniversal Power StabilizerBUnified Protection SystemCUninterruptible Power SupplyDUnregulated Power SourceCorrect! UPS stands for Uninterruptible Power Supply.It combines surge protection with a built-in battery, allowing your computer to keep running — or safely shut down — during a blackout.
This makes a UPS far more capable than a basic surge protector strip.Not quite.UPS stands for Uninterruptible Power Supply.The name reflects its core purpose: ensuring that power to your computer is never fully interrupted, even during a grid failure, by instantly switching to battery backup.Continue05 / 8UPSWhich type of UPS provides the highest level of protection by always running connected devices off its battery, with the AC mains continuously recharging it?AStandby (offline) UPSBLine-interactive UPSCDouble-conversion (online) UPSDFerroresonant UPSCorrect! A double-conversion, or online, UPS constantly converts incoming AC power to DC and back to AC, meaning your devices always run off clean, battery-regulated power.
There is zero transfer time during an outage, making it the gold standard for servers and critical systems.Not quite.The double-conversion (online) UPS is the most protective type.Unlike standby or line-interactive models that switch to battery only when needed, a double-conversion UPS runs everything through its battery continuously, eliminating transfer delay and delivering perfectly clean power at all times.Continue06 / 8ProtectionWhy is it generally a bad idea to plug a laser printer into a UPS battery outlet?ALaser printers emit interference that degrades UPS battery cellsBLaser printers draw large current spikes that can overwhelm and damage the UPS batteryCUPS devices cannot regulate the voltage required by laser printersDLaser printers require DC power, which a UPS cannot supplyCorrect! Laser printers use a heating element called a fuser that draws massive current spikes when printing.
These spikes can overwhelm a typical UPS battery, potentially damaging it or tripping its overload protection.Most UPS manufacturers explicitly warn against connecting laser printers to the battery-backed outlets.Not quite.The real issue is that laser printers draw enormous and sudden surges of current — particularly from their fuser heating element — that can easily exceed a UPS's battery capacity.
It's fine to plug a laser printer into a UPS's surge-only outlet, but not the battery-backed ones.Continue07 / 8Power SafetyWhich of the following is the most common natural cause of power surges reaching your home or office?ASolar flares directly overloading power linesBLightning strikes on or near power linesCGeomagnetic storms disrupting transformersDHigh winds causing transformers to overproduce voltageCorrect! Lightning is the most well-known natural cause of power surges.Even a strike that doesn't hit your building directly can induce massive voltage spikes through nearby power lines and enter your home through the electrical system.A quality surge protector or UPS is your best defense.Not quite.
While solar flares and geomagnetic storms can affect large-scale power infrastructure, the most common natural cause of household power surges is lightning striking nearby power lines.These strikes can send enormous voltage spikes through the grid and straight into your outlets.Continue08 / 8HardwareWhat specification should you check on a surge protector to gauge how much surge energy it can absorb before failing?AWatt ratingBJoule ratingCAmpere clamping thresholdDVoltage frequency ratingCorrect! The joule rating tells you how much total surge energy a surge protector's MOVs can absorb over their lifetime.A higher joule rating means more protection and a longer useful lifespan.
For desktop computers, look for at least 1,000 to 2,000 joules, and more for expensive workstations or home theater setups.Not quite.The joule rating is the key spec to look for when comparing surge protectors.It represents the total amount of surge energy the device can absorb across its lifetime.
Once those joules are used up — often invisibly — the protector offers no more defense, even if it still powers your devices normally.See My ScoreChallenge CompleteYour Score/ 8Thanks for playing!Try Again Your router stays on, but everything else doesn't? Yup, still a problem You need the entire network to stay online Keeping your router on a UPS is a good start.If you already have one for your PC, monitor, NAS, or whatever else, you might be able to spare a little space to add the router there, too.And for simple home networks, that's going to be A-OK.
Many networks consist of more than just the router, though, and for everything to persist (and stay safe) during power cuts, you need to reserve spots for all that other stuff, too.A modem or ONT from your ISP, a switch, mesh nodes.All of these need and deserve a spot on your UPS, which is why it makes sense to have a cheaper, low-powered one for your networking gear as opposed to sharing one for your PC and everything else.
And if you're using PoE gear, such as access points powered by a PoE switch, that switch needs battery backup or your Wi-Fi will go bye-bye the moment power goes out.Your internet may go down, but at least protect your gear On an old ISP of mine, there was a period of time when the internet would go down up to 50 times a day.Yes, .
So, without some crazy measures, you can't prevent network failures on the ISP's end—but you can very much prevent issues on your end.Power cuts are one of the main things you should protect your networking gear from, and it's both easy and inexpensive to do.APC UPS BE650G1 Output 7 Amps Connection type Type B - 3 pin (North American) A full-on UPS like this may feel overkill, but it can keep a lot more running than just your networking gear: with 390W of power, it'll keep your PC running too.
$108 at Amazon Expand Collapse
Read More
