You've heard it all your life - April showers bring May flowers. True. But they also can bring lots of thunder and lightning.

We had a doozy of a storm here in mid-Michigan on Tuesday. My twitter feed was telling me about warning sirens going off and workers being sent to basements to make sure they were safe.

But what about computers and other networking equipment? Is there an equivalent of 'moving to the basement' for your technology investment?

Sure there is, but you definitely shouldn't wait until storms are approaching to worry about it.

Storms can definitely cause problems due to lightning strikes and power outages.  Certainly you can watch the weather and when it turns nasty, you can shut everything down and unplug it all to protect it. But that's a lot of work and what if the storms come during the night when you aren't near that expensive server? And don't forget that your office has 20 or 30 workstations and, while each one is probably worth something under $1000, when you add up the total value, it's a pretty big number.

A much better approach is to make sure every piece of equipment is protected against power problems. You may not be aware that there are many power problems that are present even when there isn't a storm and that these problems can be just as damaging as what you may experience during a storm.

Power surges are an increase in the voltage that powers electrical equipment. Surges often go unnoticed; often they are quick (1/20th of a second) and absorbed by the power supply of a device. Stronger surges will go through a power supply, damaging any circuits as it moves along the grounding line.

Surges come from utility power systems that have become unstable or unreliable. Power grids often generate surges as they switch between sources to generate power. Local surges can occur when power is suddenly added or taken away from a local area. Good examples are if someone starts up an electrical motor or a fuse blows. In the case of a fuse blowing, for a moment there will be more power available to the rest of a house. This sudden excess power can cause a surge.

Lightning can send a spectacular power surge along any conductive line. This is more than just a standard surge - no surge suppressor in the world will survive a direct lightning strike. By choosing the right power protection, your surge suppressor will take the hit, end up melted, but your equipment will stay protected. Don't forget that telephone lines are also highly conductive.

Brownouts are periods of low voltage in utility lines that can cause lights to dim and equipment to fail. Also known as voltage sags, this is the most common power problem, accounting for up to 87% of all power disturbances. Brownouts can also be caused by damaged electrical lines, or equipment that draws massive amounts of power (hair dryers, refrigerators, air conditioners, laser printers).

When line voltages are lowered, electrical equipment pulls more current to compensate and generates more heat in the process. Over time, this can contribute to equipment failure.

Brownouts are often caused when utility companies must reduce their voltage output to deal with high power. Demand for power exceeds the supply of power. Brownouts are also referred to as undervoltages; there is power, just not enough to meet the demand of equipment using it. Brownouts place undue strain on power supplies and other internal components, forcing them to work harder in order to function. Extended brownouts can destroy electrical components and cause data glitches and hardware failure.

Overvoltages (spikes) - Undervoltages are often followed by "spikes," which are also damaging to computer components and data. Voltage variation can be the most damaging power problem to threaten your equipment. All electronic devices expect to receive a steady voltage (120 VAC in North America and 220/240 volts in many other parts of the world) in order to operate correctly.

Overvoltages burn out power supplies and other components and can cause massive damage to electronic hardware. Extended overvoltages can even cause fires as electronics "fry" in the extra electricity.

Blackouts or power failures are the easiest power problem to diagnose. Any temporary, or not so temporary, interruption in the flow of electricity will result in a power failure which can cause hardware damage and data loss.

Blackouts can be caused by many things - weather, overburdened power grids, or the severing of a power line. Power failures are more than simply inconvenient and annoying. Because most computers use a volatile storage method (writing to memory prior to saving on to a hard-drive), information is lost when power is removed. Data can become corrupted, and some devices can be damaged by the sudden loss of power. Just as overpower occurs with brownouts, when the power comes back, spikes can occur that may cause even more damage.

Line noise refers to random fluctuations - electrical impulses that are carried along with standard AC current. Turning on the fluorescent lights overhead, a refrigerator, laser printers, working near a radio station, using a power generator, or simply working during a lightning storm can all introduce line noise into computer systems.

Line noise interference can result in many different symptoms depending on the particular situation. Noise can introduce glitches and errors into programs and files. Hard drive components can be damaged. Televisions and computer monitors can display interference as "static" or "snow," and audio systems experience increased distortion levels. Noise suppression is stated as Decibel level (Db) at a specific frequency (KHz or MHz). The higher the Db, the greater the protection.

If you want to be sure that your equipment keeps running during an outage, you will want to invest in an uninterruptible power supply or UPS. These devices also protect against fluctuations in power levels by delivering consistent power to equipment. Power sags are boosted and spikes are absorbed.

To select the right UPS, you will need to determine how much power will be drawn and how long you need your systems to run during an outage.  You can purchase UPS systems that will run your system for an hour or longer, or you can provide for just enough runtime to safely shutdown the equipment. Software provide with most UPS systems will monitor the utility power and perform a shutdown based on parameters you provide. Obviously, the longer runtime you need the more you will spend on the UPS.

For peripheral equipment, like switches and monitors, protection can be provided with a high quality surge suppressor or voltage regulator. Don't think that a $10 or $15 surge suppressor will provide adequate protection.  Look for one that offers an equipment protection policy. These policies will pay for damaged equipment in the event that the device fails to protect it.  Policies may cover as much at $25,000. Expect to pay $25 to $50 for most applications.