Ping loss for AP9630

[BillP]

I have several Smart UPS (RT1000XL, RT1000RMXL,1000, 1500) with NMC AP9630. All the device are monitored with polling (ping sensor). Only few of these have packet loss. The net is the same and there aren't latency problem. Can you help me?

[BillP]

Hi,

I'd start by checking and letting us know the AOS/app version on each of your AP9630s and see if there is a correlation between them. Please provide a list of those versions that you find so we can look too. We have seen a few instances of this on older firmwares when network traffic is medium to heavy and we made adjustments in our firmware to address it.

Is the monitoring system also on the same network with the rest of the devices? 

Are you using IPv4 or IPv6 or both? Even if just using one or the other, are both enabled within the management card configuration?

[BillP]

This is the list :

Modello APC	Scheda di rete	Firmware
1000	AP9617	v2.6.1
1000	AP9630	v6.1.1
1000	AP9630	v6.2.1
1000	AP9630	v6.4.0
1500	AP9630	v5.1.7
1500	AP9630	v6.2.1
1500	AP9630	v6.2.1
1400 RM	AP9630	v5.1.7
RT 1000 RM XL	AP9630	v6.2.0
RT 1000 RM XL	AP9630	v5.1.7
RT 1000 RM XL	AP9630	v5.1.7
RT 1000 RM XL	AP9630	v5.1.7
RT 1000 RM XL	AP9630	v6.1.1
RT 1000 RM XL	AP9630	v6.2.1
RT 1000 RM XL	AP9630	v6.1.1.
RT 1000 XL	AP9630	v6.2.0
RT 1000 XL	AP9630	v6.1.1
RT 1000 XL	AP9630	v6.2.1
RT 1000 XL	AP9630	v6.0.6

th system monitoring is in the same network of apc.

we use IPv4 and IPv6 is disable on the card configuration.

[BillP]

Thanks for the list. Are ALL of the devices in the list showing a problem or only certain ones? If only certain ones, please specify which items in this list are of concern.

[BillP]

All of device in the list showing the problem, but we have other APC that not showing the problem. This is the list with no problem:

1000	AP9630	v6.2.1
1000	AP9630	v5.1.7
1000	AP9631	v5.0.3
1000	AP9630	v6.2.0
RT 1000 RM XL	AP9630	v5.1.3
RT 1000 RM XL	AP9630	v5.1.7
RT 1000 RM XL	AP9630	v5.1.7
RT 1000 RM XL	AP9630	v5.1.7
RT 1000 RM XL	AP9630	v5.1.7
RT 1000 RM XL	AP9630	v5.1.7
RT 1000 RM XL	AP9630	v6.2.0
RT 1000 XL	AP9630	v5.1.7
RT 1000 XL	AP9630	v5.1.3
RT 1000 XL	AP9630	v6.2.1
RT 1000 XL	AP9630	v5.1.7
RT 1000 XL	AP9630	v6.2.0
RT 1000 XL	AP9630	v5.1.7
RT 1000 XL	AP9617	v2.6.4
RT 1000 XL	AP9631	v5.1.3

[BillP]

Have you tried to do a direct connection between a PC and the APC NMC to any of these units to test the latency and truly rule out a network specific issue? That is what I would probably try.

I'd also try to pinpoint if this is happening to the devices at any particular time of day or if there is a pattern. For example, depending on the CPU load of the NMC at a given time, let's say you also have heavier than normal network traffic at certain points of the day. Many customers have SNMP scanners, security scanners, etc run at certain times of the day or night on a regular basis. Perhaps some NMCs are affected and others are not depending on what is going on with the network and what the NMC itself is doing.

You have many different firmwares here and multiple NMCs across multiple firmware revisions doing this so I am not yet inclined to blame the NMC devices 100% just yet. What I suggested above may help you uncover more helpful information to debug the situation.

And because you have so many firmware versions, I'll just make some notes. I am not sure if you standardize on any firmware versions or if you don't typically perform upgrades but depending on what you find, you can always try upgrading the firmware to also check for any changes. I don't know if it will necessarily help but for security fixes and other general bug fixes, it may benefit you as well.

• Latest firmware for AP9630/31/35 in a Smart-UPS is AOS 6.4.6/sumx 6.4.6 which is on our website. 

• Latest firmware for AP9617/18/19 in a Smart-UPS is AOS 3.7.3/sumx 3.7.2.

[BillP]

The connection between PC and the APC NMC isn't possible at this moment because all devices are in several remote sites.

The activity of NMC is only for icmp monitoring and so there aren't any particular events.

For the upgrade firmware, i'll try to update the latest version next week. Then i'll get you know.

Thanks. 

[BillP]

How to upgrade the firmware with a remote connection?

[BillP]

Here are instructions on firmware upgrade -> http://www.apc.com/us/en/faqs/FA156047 

There are a few methods of upgrading over the network - FTP, the .exe wizard (which uses FTP), SCP.

You can download the firmware here: http://www.apc.com/us/en/tools/download/ and select the Filter by Software/Firmware drop down menu and look for UPS Firmware Upgrades - UPS Network Management Card. For Smart-UPS products, look for SFSUMX646 SKU and download that. Then follow the instructions I provided.

[BillP]

Upgrades have been done except for AP9617 v2.6.4 that return an error (see in the attachment) 

[BillP · Accepted solution]

Hi, here are questions I have:

• What does the result.txt show? Anything different from the screenshot?
• Is the card still accessible, meaning are you able to log into it via the web interface?

I suggest you try the FTP upgrade method and see what occurs during that assuming that the card is still accessible and working properly. If that still does not work, you can try rebooting the management interface of the NMC to see if that helps. I believe that option will be under System->Tools->Reboot Management Interface at the top of the screen in the drop down list. Then re-try after that. It does not affect the output state of your UPS when doing this.