Error Prevention
6-8
HP Servers Troubleshooting Guide
HP CONFIDENTIAL
Writer: Ted Weiman File Name: g-ch6 Error Prevention.doc
Codename: Generic TSG Part Number: 161759-007 Last Saved On: 11/19/02 9:38 AM
Recognizing Power Problems Caused by
Acts of Nature
Some power problems are caused by acts of nature, which can range from lightning
and excessive heat to ice, rain, and windstorms. Lightning can cause spikes and
surges. A spike is a quick impulse of undesirable high voltage on a power line,
typically lasting only a fraction of a second, whereas a surge is a sudden increase in
line voltage of short duration. Excessive heat from increased use of air conditioners
can overload utility grids, causing erratic voltages, brownouts, or power outages.
Brownouts are voltage reductions by a utility company to counter excessive demand
on its generation and distribution system. Storms can cause total blackout conditions
due to downed power lines.
Power disruptions take many forms, including power surges and sags, high-voltage
spikes, switching transients, brownouts, and complete power failure. When a power
disruption occurs, check the server for signs of data damage, data loss, file
corruption, and hardware damage. The difficulty of dealing with power fluctuations
is that the damage is not always immediately noticeable; thus, problems may not be
noticed until long after the power disruption has occurred.
Preventing Power Management Problems
When determining the power requirements for your server, consider the following
factors:
•
General power requirements
•
Power consumption of the desired configuration
•
Power supplies required for the desired configuration
•
Power cords required for the desired configuration
•
Power redundancy requirements
