[BBLISA] UPS relative merits

[Daniel Feenberg]

We need a UPS to prevent damage to our disk drives when power spikes. We 
have been getting APC Smart UPS for ~$500, but I have noticed that the APC 
BackUPS is about $200. If we don't care about the USB interface, or the 
LCD monitor, or the "hang time", is there a reason to prefer the Smart 
UPS? I notice in the spces that it delivers "sinewave power" rather than 
"step function approximation". Is that important for the 10 minutes/year 
the system will be providing power?

Both systems are "line-interactive". Does that even provide any protection 
from brief high voltage? I worry that the only protection from spikes they 
provide is in the mosfet, and that the batteries are not relevant. We 
don't try to keep the systems up during a power outage, just shut them 
down as quickly as possible.

We are in Cambridge and we used to lose a drive or two after every power 
failure. I believe that the UPSs have reduced that rate, but it is hard to 
tell.

Daniel Feenberg