For those AC only powered units, you can also purchase an invertor for DC to AC conversion. You would then have the advantages of DC for your AC equipment. This does, however, add the potential of another point of failure such as fuses or breakers in the invertor. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stephen Sprunk" <ssprunk@cisco.com> To: <ipdude@cattle-today.com>; <nanog@merit.edu> Sent: Sunday, December 29, 2002 1:58 AM Subject: Re: DC power versus AC power
Thus spake ip dude <ipdude@cattle-today.com>:
Hello NANOG group. I am trying to make a case for using DC power supplies versus AC power supplies for typical IP networking equipment. Is there any published whitepapers detailing this subject? Do you have any suggestions to aide my argument?
Most of the argument depends on the facility you're in. Assuming you're asking as an end-customer:
DC requires clue from your staff when installing/removing equipment, and this means safety training at a minimum. Power choice also affects your equipment purchasing: DC versions of gear are often priced higher, and
gear
not intended for telcos/ISPs may not have a DC option available at all.
OTOH, many colos -- especially ones run by telcos -- don't provide AC UPS. If you want AC UPS in these environments, you'll have to provide your own, which is expensive, bulky, and a maintainance burden.
If you're building your own datacenter, please specify that and I'm sure you'll get a whole different discussion :)
S