UPS - Should I use the data cable?

Regarding the use of a UPS with Electronics Line USA DVRs
  
If the customer uses the ‘Data Cable’ from the UPS to the DVR (Usually a DB-9 to USB provided by the UPS manufacturer), the UPS will send a 'Shutdown' command to the DVR if there is even a 2 or 3 minute power outage. When this happens, THE DVR WILL NOT REBOOT when power is restored.  This is because the DVR was told to shut down. (An 'Expected' power off)
 
The DVR will only reboot automatically after an UNEXPECTED power loss.
 The customer must, obviously, weigh the pros and cons and make their own decision about whether or not to use the data cable.

CONs
2 or 3 minute power outage in the evening will turn off the DVR until someone restarts it. (Without the cable, it would still be running)

PROs
If the outage is sustained beyond the backups ability to provide power, the DVR could sustain a ‘Registry Write' error and require a Windows Repair (or worse, an RMA ) to get it running again. The data cable will turn off the DVR before this happens.
 

Some UPS software will allow the user to set the 'Shut Down after power Loss' interval which can help in short outages-the power may be restored before the shutdown command is issued. However the issue still remains- Risk 'possible' damage to the DVR or Los
security until someone restarts the DVR . The answer, depends on the priorities of the customer and so must be left to them to decide.
Registry Write errors are not that common in instances of power loss (maybe 1 in 10) but the results are usually serious.(The main cause of blue screens and boot failures is Registry corruption) The ETV series is the most susceptible to this issue because of the increased amount of data that is being constantly written to the hard drive.
 
Remember to connect ONLY the DVR and Line Conditioner to the UPS .
Connecting a monitor or any other device will drastically reduce the time the UPS can maintain backup power. Use a separate UPS device to power your cameras.

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