Keeping Up When Power is Down
The two major themes in telecom are to build the right network and then keep it running. Granted, it’s an oversimplification for the litany of challenges both themes face, but complex problems must still be resolved to a simple answer to the question, ‘Is the network up?”. Some days it seems like the whole world wants to bring our networks down – if we include solar flare disruptions, then it’s not just the world but the sun too. This week we will keep the content terrestrial and cover one of the most fundamental concerns for the network: losing power.
Uninterruptible Power Supply
As a summary for the private network neophytes (we were all there once, so don’t feel bad), the network locations with critical missions may have a generator in case of power loss; however, large amounts of AC power suddenly disappearing from a power loss and reappearing when the generator turns on will likely damage or destroy sensitive telecommunications equipment. Therefore, an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is inserted between the AC power supply and the network equipment to seamlessly provide power as generators start up and provide additional time until the power is restored. The important facts about how the UPS keeps power supplied to the equipment are through a series of rectifiers (converts AC to DC power), batteries to supply temporary power, and inverters (converts DC to AC power) to maintain a stable source of necessary power type to the network equipment. The UPS prevents power surges and provides battery power until generators turn on or regular power is restored. Depending on various factors, a site may have a UPS for the entire facility, or it may have a UPS for specific network elements on a circuit that connects to a modest generator. Therefore, identifying what network elements are most critical will determine how the network is designed and help determine how mitigation contingency resources are allocated.
Ventev and HPE Aruba Partnership
Ventev partnered with HPE to offer an Aruba Integrated System with a built-in UPS to provide critical communications connectivity during a power outage. The combined solution integrates the ruggedized Aruba CX 4100i ethernet switch into various Ventev power solutions to form a single unit. The CX 4100i boasts (12) 1GB ports with (8) class 4 POE ports at 30W and (4) class 6 POE ports at 60W. When the system is connected to AC power, the CX 4100i performs at full deployment capacity. When power is interrupted, the Ventev power solution communicates with the CX 4100i to prioritize what ports should remain active to ensure the most critical communications links can stay up as the system conserves UPS power until AC power is restored.
The challenges we face to protect our networks are not going away, and Ventev works with technology partners and customers to resolve these challenges. Ventev offers cost-efficient high-quality and performance solutions that are easily deployed and enable networks to support critical communications and applications. We are here to help you overcome a range of network challenges.