[svlug] Hardware for a new server

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Don Marti (dmarti at zgp.org):

> Rick, are you using a UPS?  Mine puts off a lot of heat--it might be
> one of the costlier parts of the home IT infrastructure once you get
> down to single-digit watts for everything else.

I bought a UPS about two years ago, but haven't yet deployed it.  It's
still in the retail box.  Also out of similar concerns about AC power, I
picked up an AC line conditioner at the Foothill College Electronics
Flea Market, last summer, but likewise haven't deployed yet.  I'm
undecided about whether I really need either one.

I used to have some serious concerns about power stability at my house,
and had noticed a suspicious pattern of hardware damage (including my
old VA Research model 500 getting fried during an April 2009 wind and
lightning storm).  It turned out the some storms had bent tree branches
and broken the neutral lead of my house's main power feed at the point
where it entered my house's roof, so I had varying voltages until I
called in an electrician and fixed it.