Back when I was the Testbed Manager for the Defense Systems Information Agency DISANet LAN, one of the things we were going to be doing was deploying over 50 se

Back when I was the Testbed Manager for the Defense Systems Information Agency DISANet LAN, one of the things we were going to be doing was deploying over 50 servers in different data centers around the world, some of which would be in classified environments. We needed some reliable UPSes for some of those environments, because not all of the data centers had reliable power. We looked at several brands, and one of them was APC. We bought them from the various vendors, instead of having them sent to us by their sales people, so that we would have a more representative idea of what it would be like to actually own a fleet of these things. One thing that impressed me about APC was that they seemed to be smaller but more ruggedly built than any of the others we were looking at. Unfortunately, when I plugged that unit in, it sounded like a chainsaw. So, I called up the company, and explained who I was and what we were doing. Not much reaction from the tech support person I was talking to. Then I told them what the problem was. They told me to ship it back to them (on our dime), and they'd look at it. I tried to explain again who I was and what we were doing, but they stayed on script. Then I got a bright idea and told them to wait while I held out the phone to let them hear what it sounded like. As I was bringing the phone back to my ear, what I heard was "... pping out by Federal Express, next day air". Lo and behold, the replacement did actually arrive at the office next day, with instructions to mail back the failed unit at our leisure and all expenses paid by APC. And the replacement was quiet. We bought 50 of them -- one for each server. So far as I know, they never failed. I've continued to be a loyal APC customer ever since 1993, and the one and only problem I've ever had with any of them over the decades has been that the batteries sometimes need to be replaced. But spares of those types are kept in stock by every Batteries Plus or Microcenter store that I've seen here in the US. Less than five minutes to replace them. I do go for the SmartUPS line, over the BackUPS. And I buy units that I can guarantee will give me extended run times on 15amp circuits. Worth every penny.