UPS (Uninterruptible power supply)

An uninterruptible power supply is a battery-backed device that keeps computers, servers and network equipment running briefly during a power failure and protects them from surges.

A UPS sits between the wall outlet and your equipment. When power drops or fluctuates, it switches to battery instantly, giving devices time to keep working through short outages or shut down safely during longer ones. Many models also condition power to smooth out spikes and dips.

Alberta businesses deal with summer storms, winter weather and occasional grid interruptions, and rural sites can experience less stable power. A sudden loss of power can corrupt databases, damage hard drives and take down phones, internet and security cameras. Availability is part of security too: if your firewall or server loses power abruptly, recovery can take far longer than the outage itself.

Practical tip: put servers, firewalls, network switches and internet equipment on a UPS, and configure servers to shut down automatically when the battery runs low. UPS batteries wear out over time, so test them and replace them according to the manufacturer's guidance.