Just installed AP9631 into SMT1500C UPS. Now confused about management options.

[BillP]

This question was originally posted by Bernhard on APC forums on 8/1/2020

---

Hi,

I have been using an SMT1500C UPS (no Network Management Card) in my home office for a while now and up until now I have always used the PowerChute Business Edition (BE) to configure the UPS. I also used the ethernet port on the base unit to connect to smartconnect.apc.com and receive event notifications.

Using the PowerChute BE software with the USB cable was a bit of a nuisance, because I had to move the USB connector from my Synology NAS to my desktop each time I wanted to check or change something and move it back to the NAS afterwards (so the NAS would once again have awareness of the power state of the UPS).

Also I have been using my Synology NAS as a NUT server and installed WinNut on my desktop client, to receive power state information from my NAS, so I never needed PowerChute for that.

Yesterday I installed an AP9631 NMC2 card into my SMT1500C and it seems to work pretty well. I have upgraded the firmware to version 6.8.8 and can configure the NMC as well as the UPS through the web interface of the NMC.

Now I have a couple of questions:

* I'm assuming that I don't need the PowerChute Busines Edition software anymore, since a) it requires a USB connection and b) I can make all settings changes via the web interface of the NMC. Is that correct or is there still a reason to keep this software on my desktop?

* Or is there any other software that I should be using instead of PowerChute Business Edition (Perhaps the PowerChute Network Shutdown software in lieu of WinNUT)? Or something else altogether?

* It seems that the email notification settings of the AP9631 NMC are completely separate from the notification settings of the base SMT1500C configuration? Should I remove the notification settings in the base unit within PowerChute in order to avoid duplicate notifications?

* Also it seems that the ethernet port on the SMT1500C base unit is still needed for the SmartConnect function ( smartconnect.apc.com )? Is that correct? If not, is there any other reason to keep connecting that port to the network?

Thanks in advance for any help in sorting out my confusion.

[BillP]

This reply was originally posted by Bill on APC forums on 8/3/2020

---

Hi,

On 8/1/2020 4:18 PM, Bernhard said:

* I'm assuming that I don't need the PowerChute Busines Edition software anymore, since a) it requires a USB connection and b) I can make all settings changes via the web interface of the NMC. Is that correct or is there still a reason to keep this software on my desktop?

That is correct.

On 8/1/2020 4:18 PM, Bernhard said:

* Or is there any other software that I should be using instead of PowerChute Business Edition (Perhaps the PowerChute Network Shutdown software in lieu of WinNUT)? Or something else altogether?

For graceful shutdown of the OS I suggest PowerChute Network Shutdown. You will find the installation guide and user's guide at these links. 

Install Guide https://download.schneider-electric.com/files?p_Doc_Ref=SPD_PMAR-9HBK44_EN

User's Guide https://download.schneider-electric.com/files?p_Doc_Ref=SPD_PMAR-9E5LVY_EN

On 8/1/2020 4:18 PM, Bernhard said:

* It seems that the email notification settings of the AP9631 NMC are completely separate from the notification settings of the base SMT1500C configuration? Should I remove the notification settings in the base unit within PowerChute in order to avoid duplicate notifications?

You can configure the AP9631 to send email or use the email feature from SmartConnect.apc.com I would not configure both to avoid duplicate notifications. 

On 8/1/2020 4:18 PM, Bernhard said:

* Also it seems that the ethernet port on the SMT1500C base unit is still needed for the SmartConnect function ( smartconnect.apc.com )? Is that correct?

Yes. That is correct. The NMC is for local network access. SmartConnect is cloud based monitoring. 

[BillP · Accepted solution]

This reply was originally posted by Bernhard on APC forums on 8/3/2020

---

Awesome, that was exactly the info I was looking for. Thanks so much, Bill.