Fault Tolerant Power Systems

An increasingly critical element in electronic designs is a power source that can supply continuous power to the system in case of such events as loss of AC line power, power line variations, etc. For many systems" such as servers, LANs/WANs, switchers, routers, and telecommunications networks" an unexpected loss of power can cause catastrophic damage to hardware and leave the system off-line long after power has been restored. Aron Levy describes the theory, design, and operation of power supplies with redundancies and back-up measures that will ensure uninterrupted operation of a system in the event of the loss of the normal power source. A sampling of the topics discussed includes anticipating sources of power disruption, fault tolerance and redundancy, "hot swapping" of power sources, cost effective design, determining required backup capacities, monitoring and detection of impending power disruptions, mechanical and thermal design considerations, and integration of the fault tolerant power source with the main system power sources. Aron Levy examines the question of how much reliability is needed and analyzes it from a cost/bLevy, Jack S. is the author of 'Fault Tolerant Power Systems', published 2004 under ISBN 9780750676526 and ISBN 0750676523.