Ask a business what causes most of their hardware failures, and the answer is usually software issues, age, or bad luck.
Rarely does anyone mention power.
Power events are, in practice, one of the most common and most preventable causes of hardware damage in business environments. They are also almost entirely invisible until a piece of equipment fails in a way that looks, for all the world, like something else entirely.
What a power event actually is
A power cut is the obvious example. Less obvious are the power events that happen without anyone noticing. Voltage spikes, which are brief surges of excess voltage caused by anything from a lightning strike on a local power line to a large appliance switching off nearby. Voltage sags, which are brief drops in voltage that cause devices to brownout and reset without fully losing power. Line noise, which is electrical interference on the power circuit that causes subtle, cumulative damage to sensitive electronics.
These events happen regularly in most commercial premises. Most businesses have no protection against any of them.
What happens to a server when the power cuts and returns
When power is cut to a server without a clean shutdown, any data being written to disk at that moment is lost. The sudden loss of power can also corrupt operating system files, database transaction logs, and application state in ways that are not immediately apparent.
When the power returns, there is often a spike before the supply stabilises. A server that has been through a power cut and then hit by a spike on restoration is under significant stress. Many do not show the effects immediately. They continue to operate, apparently normally, while the damage works its way through the hardware over weeks or months until something fails definitively.
That delayed failure is the expensive one. By the time it is attributed to a power event, the event itself is long forgotten.
The extension lead in the server room
Walk into the comms room of a typical small British business, and you will find, with surprising regularity, a domestic extension lead powering the network equipment.
A PDU (Power Distribution Unit) is not a fancy extension lead. It is a device designed specifically for rack-mounted and high-density electrical environments. A quality PDU distributes power reliably across multiple outlets, protects against surges and spikes, filters line noise, and mounts in a rack to reduce cable clutter and the risk of accidental disconnection.
The cost comparison
A quality 12-way PDU from RGB Networks costs under £90. A managed switch costs several hundred pounds to replace. A server costs several thousand. The data on a failed server costs whatever it costs to recover, if it can be recovered at all.
The PDU is not an optional extra. It is the device that stands between your infrastructure and the power events that are, with certainty, going to occur.
RGB Networks supplies 6-way, 12-way, and 15-way PDUs with 1.8m and 3m leads, designed for rack environments and server rooms. Available directly from rgbnetworks.co.uk with same-day dispatch on orders before noon. Trade pricing available for IT businesses and regular buyers.
RGB Networks PDU range: rgbnetworks.co.uk | esales@rgbnetworks.co.uk | Same-day dispatch before noon