INTIP09

Use this procedure to check the AC electrical power for the system.

  1. Have an installation planning representative or an electrician (when necessary), perform the following steps.
  2. Power off the server and the power network branch circuits before performing this procedure.
  3. To ensure the safety of personnel, all electrical wiring in the United States must meet National Electrical Code requirements.
  4. Check ALL system receptacles to ensure that each is wired correctly. This includes receptacles for the server and all equipment that attaches to the server, including workstations. Do this to determine if a wire with primary voltage on it has been swapped with the ground wire, causing an electrical shock hazard.
  5. When three-phase voltage is used to provide power to the server, correct balancing of the load on each phase is important. The units should be connected so that all three phases are used equally.
  6. The power distribution neutral must return to the "separately derived source" (uninterruptable power supply, service entrance transformer, system power module, motor generator) through an insulated wire that is the same size as the phase wire or larger.
  7. The server and its attached equipment should be the only units that are connected to the power distribution network that the server gets its power.
  8. The equipment that is attached to the server, such as workstations and printers, must be attached to the power distribution network for the server when possible.
  9. Check all circuit breakers in the network that supply ac power to the server as follows:
  10. Equipment that uses a large amount of current, such as: Air conditioners, copiers, and FAX machines, should not receive power from the same branch circuits as the system or its workstations. Also, the wiring that provides ac voltage for this equipment should not be placed in the same conduit as the ac voltage wiring for the server. The reason for this is that this equipment generates ac noise pulses. These pulses can get into the ac voltage for the server and cause intermittent problems.
  11. Measure the ac voltage to each unit to ensure that it is in the normal range.

    Is the voltage outside the normal range?

  12. The remainder of this procedure is only for a server that is attached to a separately derived source.

    Some examples of separately derived sources are an uninterruptable power supply, a motor generator, a service entrance transformer, and a system power module.

    The ac voltage system must meet all the requirements that are stated in this procedure and also all of the following:

    Notes:
    1. The following applies to an uninterruptable power supply, but it can be used for any separately derived source.
    2. System upgrades must not exceed the power requirements of your derived source.

    The uninterruptable power supply must be able to supply the peak repetitive current that is used by the system and the devices that attach to it. The uninterruptable power supply can be used over its maximum capacity if it has a low peak repetitive current specification, and the uninterruptable power supply is already fully loaded. Therefore, a de-rating factor for the uninterruptable power supply must be calculated to allow for the peak-repetitive current of the complete system. To help you determine the de-rating factor for an uninterruptable power supply, use the following:

    Note:
    The peak-repetitive current is different from the "surge" current that occurs when the server is powered on.

    The de-rating factor equals the crest factor multiplied by the RMS load current divided by the peak load current where the:

    When a three-phase separately derived source is used, correct balancing of the load as specified in step 5 is critical. If the load on any one phase of an uninterruptable power supply is more than the load on the other phases, the voltage on all phases may be reduced.

  13. If the system is attached to an uninterruptable power supply or motor generator, then check for the following: