Power surges and brownouts can ruin your data as well as the hardware
If you have a home server or home lab, you might always be thinking about upgrades to bolster its capabilities. From more storage and a new GPU to ECC RAM and 10Gb Ethernet, there’s a lot you can do to upgrade your home server. That said, you might be ignoring a critical upgrade as you chase better specs. A UPS should be the next investment for your home server, providing not only power backup for uninterrupted operations, but also protection from power anomalies. Without a UPS, you’re risking annoying interruptions, data loss, and even permanent damage to your hardware.
Every home server needs uninterrupted power
Interruptions might be digestible on a PC, but not on a server
If you’ve been using a home server for a while, you might already be running virtual machines or self-hosted services that need to be online 24/7. For instance, your Immich, Nextcloud, and Vaultwarden instances need to have constant uptime to enable uninterrupted access to all your photos, files, and passwords. Your Jellyfin server for your media and Kopia for all your backups also can’t afford power supply interruptions. Even if power cuts are rare and brief in your neighborhood, they can be annoying, especially if you’re watching a movie or browsing photos, or your server misses a backup job.
Adding a UPS to your home lab or server is an inexpensive investment if you consider the upside. You’re guaranteeing uninterrupted operations and enough time for you to safely turn your server off in case of a prolonged power cut.
