Product: Eaton BladeUPS

Location: Salisbury, MD

Market Served: Broadcast Television

Background

WBOC-TV Channel 16 is no stranger to breaking news. Delivering up-to-the-minute reports to nearly 500,000 viewers along the Delmarva Peninsula, the CBS affiliate and member of the Associated Press has been broadcasting since July 15, 1954. Known throughout the community as "Delmarva's News Leader," WBOC is committed to reporting on issues that affect the entire peninsula, with coverage extending to 10 counties across Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. Operating its main studio in Salisbury, Md., WBOC also supports two satellite newsrooms in Dover and Milton, Del.

Challenge

As an organization that provides vital communication during rain, sleet, snow, or power outages, WBOC needs an uninterruptible power system (UPS) it doesn’t have to think twice about. Powering multiple blade servers, dozens of work stations, an array of video equipment and on-air monitoring devices, WBOC required a robust solution capable of delivering continuous uptime and high availability to all of its critical applications. “If the UPS isn’t protecting the equipment, then we go off the air,” reveals Mark Cook, WBOC engineer. Previously juggling nine different standalone UPSs – ranging from 3.1 to 5.5 kVA – WBOC struggled with multiple issues, including difficulty managing the separate units, outgrowing their available power capacity, and the inability to provide much-needed redundancy. “With all of these other units, we had separate panels and it was always a challenge to find out where we could put a new unit and where we could get electrical access,” Cook says. And although the station relied on make-before-break bypass switches when swapping out UPS batteries, “we always worried about getting hit then,” Cook explains, adding that WBOC’s facility tends to experience at least one major power glitch per month.

Solution

With the help of Hollywood, Florida-based reseller North Star Technical Services, WBOC selected a power protection solution worthy of an Emmy: the Eaton® BladeUPS® . Specifically designed for high-density computing environments, the revolutionary UPS delivers 12 kW of efficient, reliable power while occupying just 6U of standard rack space – including the batteries. Capable of expanding from 12 kW to 60 kW in a single industry-standard, 19-inch rack, the BladeUPS offers a scalable architecture, which enables the solution to grow with expanding IT applications – one of the benefits WBOC values most.“When you install a UPS, you think, ‘we should never run out of power with this one,’” explains Cook. “But then two years later, you need another one. With technology advancing as fast as it is, you need the flexibility to grow with it. This solution allows us to pay as we grow – and when we do add modules, we don’t even need to hire an electrician to run additional power.” Even more, the BladeUPS provides the highest level of reliability using patented Powerware® Hot Sync® paralleling technology, which allows each UPS module to operate independently – yet completely synchronized with the others – eliminating any single point of failure. “If you lose one unit, everything is still backed up,” says Cook. “With the BladeUPS, you don’t have to put the unit in bypass mode or use smaller units to achieve redundancy.” Furthermore, another key selling point for the TV station was the BladeUPS’ hot-swappable battery and electronics modules, which can be changed in minutes without interrupting power to connected equipment, greatly simplifying service. “I just swap them out myself,” notes Cook, “and you never experience any downtime.” The ability to now centrally manage its power protection solution has also earned the BladeUPS high ratings from WBOC. “It really saves time,” Cook reveals. “It’s not only easier to maintain, but to monitor, as well.” The BladeUPS is also making a significant contribution to today’s focus on energy conservation with its industryleading 97 percent efficiency that can save customers thousands of dollars in power and cooling costs. The unit’s high efficiency also results in extended battery runtimes and cooler operating conditions for the UPS, both of which extend the overall life of components and further bolster reliability and performance. In addition to its ongoing costs savings, the BladeUPS made headlines at WBOC for its attractive price point, which Cook acknowledges was “definitely a factor” in the station’s selection of the solution. Noting that he would have had to buy four or five single-phase standalone UPSs in order to provide the power output of a single BladeUPS, he notes, “It was a lot less expensive for us.”

Implementation

The unique design of the BladeUPS enables it to be deployed in a number of different manners, from a distributed architecture with one unit in each rack, to an end of row configuration with up to six units in a rack, to a central system placed in the electrical closet rather than on the IT floor. Furthermore, its intelligent design automatically detects parallel modules and fully configures itself for parallel operations. WBOC chose to deploy its BladeUPS solution in a parallel configuration, with three 12 kW modules placed in the station’s server room rack, and another trio of modules rack-mounted in its electrical room. “It was very easy to install,” confirms Cook, who set up the first BladeUPS module himself. Five months later, the station added a fourth module to its server room rack, which Cook also quickly deployed.

Result

Since implementing the BladeUPS solution at WBOC, the news is clearly positive for the TV station. Thanks to its comprehensive power protection solution, WBOC TV is now able to:

• Ensure continuous availability and uptime to its critical equipment, which keeps the air waves open for the latest news coverage
• Expand its power protection solution to accommodate future growth in a costefficient manner
• Easily change batteries without any threat of downtime or load loss
• Manage and monitor its complete power protection solution from a single, centralized point, saving valuable time and resources