which UPS to buy?

I think all UPSes have replaceable batteries, and you need to replace them at least every four years if not sooner. I like the APCs and have the XS1500 running my ReadyNAS plus a few other things. A nice SIZE (both current and physical) for the RN would be their 700, though I never seem to see that one on sale. If you're in the US, Fry's frequently has the 1300 and 1500 at decent prices e.g. approaching $100 bucks.

APC Backups 550G or 650G. No reason to spend more $.

You should be able to get 20 minutes with a Duo and a couple other low power devices attached. Obviously the time decreases as the battery ages. The good thing is the 550G and 650G use easily replaceable 12V 7/8aH batteries. $20 or less to replace if you have a battery wholesaler nearby.

many thanks for the replies, by 700, I presume you mean the Back-UPS 700VA (BE700G)

With regards to what actually happens on a power failure, will the ReadyNAS Duo run for a bit and once it detects the UPS is running out of power does it shut itself off gracefully? Is that how it works or what?

Richard

With APC the unit will come with a cable that has an RJ45 (ethernet) plug on one end and a USB A male plug on the other. Plug the RJ45 into the APC unit and the USB plug into any of the USB ports on your ReadyNAS. The ReadyNAS should detect it and it should show up as a green dot in RAIDar in the UPS column (battery icon at the top). If you have two NAS units, you can have one pass the UPS status to the second.

You can also find reasonably priced units at Sam's. The BN1250G which is a more modern version of mine is $160 and the BM600MC is $65. When it comes time to replace the battery(s), the best way is to remove the old ones and take the number off the battery. Then contact a local vendor who specializes in batteries. The battery is very heavy for it's size and individual shipping may cost. I am fortunate in that I have a local vendor who stocks a wider variety of batteries.

rejoyce wrote:
With regards to what actually happens on a power failure, will the ReadyNAS Duo run for a bit and once it detects the UPS is running out of power does it shut itself off gracefully? Is that how it works or what?

Yes. There is section in frontview that lets you configure the setup if you want (system->power, with UPS configuration at the bottom).

Note that if you want you can test the shutdown safely if you like.

You do this by connecting the Duo to regular power, but also connecting the USB cable to the UPS. Then connect something else (perhaps a lighting fixture) into the UPS , and and finally unplug the UPS from the wall outlet. When the UPS battery runs down, the Duo should shut down. If it doesn't for some reason, there is no harm done since the Duo is still running off the main power.

StephenB wrote:

Note that if you want you can test the shutdown safely if you like. You do this by connecting the Duo to regular power, but also connecting the USB cable to the UPS. Then connect something else (perhaps a lighting fixture) into the UPS , and and finally unplug the UPS from the wall outlet. When the UPS battery runs down, the Duo should shut down. If it doesn't for some reason, there is no harm done since the Duo is still running off the main power.

I'd not seen this trick before. Very simple, very safe, very nice!

That is a good diagnostic tool. Thanks to StephenB for sharing this idea with us.

PapaBear wrote:
With APC the unit will come with a cable that has an RJ45 (ethernet) plug on one end and a USB A male plug on the other. Plug the RJ45 into the APC unit and the USB plug into any of the USB ports on your ReadyNAS.

Recent production of the APC "G" units uses USB Type A and USB Type B ends. In other words a standard USB cable. They finally (and thankfully) are moving away from the idiotic and custom RJ50 plug that only served to make them $$ when people needed a replacement cable.

I've got an apc ups 550 I bought on sale at best buy. Even with a number of other things it gives me 13 minutes. I've had power outages and this was plenty. I do have better UPS's in my house for other things (AVR in particular for AV equipment), but for this system the cheaper unit has worked great. Only thing I don't like about it is it doesn't have enough sideways plugs. The darn external USB drives I backup to all have large transformer style plugs.

steve

dsm1212 wrote:

I've got an apc ups 550 I bought on sale at best buy. Even with a number of other things it gives me 13 minutes. I've had power outages and this was plenty. I do have better UPS's in my house for other things (AVR in particular for AV equipment), but for this system the cheaper unit has worked great. Only thing I don't like about it is it doesn't have enough sideways plugs. The darn external USB drives I backup to all have large transformer style plugs. steve

Get yourself some of these.

http://www.amazon.com/C2G-Cables-03137- ... +liberator