I've been dealing with some frustrating network outages in one of our offices, primarily due to power issues surrounding our UPS systems. On a few occasions, the PDU was found turned off, and sometimes the UPS didn't power back up after a blackout, which caused significant downtime. Each time I've raised this with our network team, they insist that maintaining the UPS isn't their responsibility; instead, they claim it falls under the parameters of the Client Network lead. This seems odd to me since I believe the team responsible for the network gear should have some accountability when it comes to its power backup. I've got a tech background and personally managed UPS batteries in previous roles. Is it unreasonable to expect the network team to take some charge of their UPS systems and be proactive about managing power issues, rather than allowing repeated outages?
4 Answers
In our setup, the network team monitors the UPS units, but any physical maintenance or servicing is usually handled by our facilities team. Coordination is key—if issues arise, we ensure proper communication happens between the teams to resolve them effectively.
Exactly! Collaboration can go a long way in preventing miscommunication during power issues.
In IT, if your systems are hooked up to a UPS, then maintaining that UPS typically falls on you. Sure, it's good to have clear responsibilities, but generally, those managing the network gear should also ensure that the UPS is in good condition. It's all about keeping the systems up and running, right?
Absolutely! Having that ownership mentality is crucial in IT—everyone knows the value of uptime.
100% agree! It's all part of the job to keep the network running smoothly. Challenges can often arise, but that doesn't mean they should fall through the cracks.
Ultimately, it can depend on the company's structure. Here, the network ops team directly manages the UPSs, which allows for quick response times to failures. If your organization is smaller, maybe lean towards a conversation about how to make that ownership clearer.
Good point! Clarity in ownership definitely leads to fewer outages.
For sure! It just needs a bit of conversation and organization to make it work.
There's rarely a clear-cut answer for who owns what regarding UPS maintenance. It really comes down to the specifics of your organization. Try to identify who has the best access and knows the most about immediate issues—it could be someone onsite that you're not considering. This is more an organizational issue than a technical one.
Exactly! Just because it doesn't seem clean cut doesn't mean it shouldn't be addressed. Every company needs to figure out who manages their assets.
Totally agree. The responsibilities often need to be defined clearly to avoid these problems.
That sounds like a solid approach! It's important that both teams work together without finger-pointing.