Servers tripping GFCI

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Thatguy

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GFIs don't just sense power returning on the ground. They can sense the power going out on the hot leg and the power returning on the neutral leg. An imbalance caused by computer circuitry (fluorescent lighting is also known to do this) will cause the GFI to think there is leakage from the hot leg to ground somewhere and cause it to trip.

Without this hot/neutral power sensing ability it would defeat the purpose of installing GFIs in the kitchen and bath. How many hair dryers and mixers, coffee makers and crock pots have you seen with a grounded cord?
That's right, GFIs "do not know" about ground. They just know less current came back than went out and they assume this extra current is flowing through someone's body.
 

Alternety

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Surge suppressors use MOV's to shunt spikes between the two places each MOV is connected to. In a good unit there will be one each for neutral to hot, hot to ground, neutral to ground. The MOV can be thought of as a resistor that does not conduct much until the voltage across it rises beyond a certain voltage. Then it conducts a lot. There is some intrinsic leakage in these devices. IF the MOV has absorbed surges over time it will start to deteriorate. This is normal. MOV's are not a permanent device; they are a sacrificial device. The little LEDs (when done properly) look at the wear state of the MOV by measuring leakage current.

These MOVs can also be found on the input of equipment. It is relatively cheap protection for a manufacturers electronics. So better equipment is more likely to have some of these (e.g., a good UPS, a server).

The ones from hot and neutral to ground could be your current source. Testing a MOV is probably outside of the scope of this sort of advice.

Doing as suggested above, put one device on at a time and see if you can find the one (or more) that are causing the problem. It could be the cumulative result of a little current from multiple machines.

If you find a machine that does it, have it serviced or replaced as appropriate. If the MOV is doing that it should be replaced. It has probably reached end-of-life and not protecting as it should.
 
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