Communication Lost with UPS

[Anonymous user]

Smart UPS 1500
Dell PE2950
Windows 2003 server fully patched

After 2 to 3 days I get the "Lost Communication with UPS" message.

I've been in contact with APC and they sent me the USB-COM cable. (used a USB-USB before)

But the problem wasn't solved with the new cable. (only tried the drivers that APC shipped with the cable.... read on the forum that a newer set of drivers might work better)

--->When I used the USB-USB cable I could solve this temporary by disconnect/connect the USB cable.
--->With the new USB-COM cable I can solve this temporary by stopping and then starting the "APC PBE Agent" service.

The "answer/suggestion" to reeboot the system and braindead the UPS seem to be the solution for everything. What is wrong with APC's UPS'es From what I've learned an UPS should always have power, but APC's seem to work best when shut off completly.

Are APC still trying to solve this problem ?

Where do you suspect that the problem is:
1. The UPS hardware
2. The Cable (we have tried two diffrent types, USB and Serial)
3. The APC PBE (we have tried atleast 4 diffrent versions. Using 8.01 now if I remember correctly)

///Rick

[Anonymous user]

I experience a similiar problem with my new SUA1500I.

When using the usb-usb cable, the connection gets lost after a few minutes (using the supplied Powerchute Business Basic 7 or version 8 from the apc website).

A disconnect/reconnect of the USB cable solves the problem but it reappears (Windows XP latest patchlevel).

With the serial-serial cable, the problem does not appear.

[Techie_apc]

Andreas,

If your Server has got a Serial port and you are ok to use to use the Serial Cable, then you can use the Serial Cable connection as a workaround for this issue.

[Erasmus_apc · Accepted solution]

Have you tried the newer serial -> USB Drivers?
Have you tried the Smart-UPS unit on a different system?

APC is addressing the issue, which can be linked to UPS hardware. It has not been seen by many customers and does not affect any particular Smart-UPS within a set "manufacture range". The issue, from what we've experienced, can be made worse by other USB applications that may be running on your system.