We don’t want it all in one thread, we want individual threads so we can learn each person by name; you can choose not to disclose things you feel are private, and keep it minimal but a POST just for you lets us ask questions and gives the community a chance to associate you with your name (since we don’t get avatars :\ )
It’s a hardware device that basically acts as a battery for your computer or servers when the electricity goes out. So if you live in an area with a lot of electricity outages, you get a UPS so you can save your work and shut down your computer instead of it just dying suddenly and possibly corrupting your data.
It’s also used to stabilize voltage in areas where the voltage fluctuates a lot. Instead of directly plugging your computer into the wall socket, you plug it into the UPS and the UPS into the wall.
OP’s running a Masto/Lemmy instance on their home server. Their home electricity went out. Their UPS gives them 15-30 minutes of power but that’s about it. So they had to shut things down.
Yeah, I end up living in places with brown outs regularly, or unstable power that could break my devices. UPS don’t really keep your stuff online long term; need a more serious battery back up or generator to keep it going to keep things going for hours or days. I have about 4 of them since they are kinda critical where I end up living (lately Latin America).
Thanks for explaining it, more succinct than I would have been.