Safe to update management card in UPS while its in use?

[robclarke41_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 4/24/2014

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Hi All,

I need to update the firmware of our x2 APC Smart UPS 6000 and 1x Smart UPS 3000 management cards which are all AP9619 cards.  The UPS units are all connected to multiple devices and have x2 additional battery packs attached to each one.  My question is can I safely update this firmware 'SFSUMX372' without having any downtime or is the recommended way of doing this to power down devices before its done?  I couldn't find any official documentation on this matter, if someone could send me a link to something official from APC I would be much obliged. 

Thanks for any help!

Rob

[robclarke41_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 4/24/2014

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Hi All,

I need to update the firmware of our x2 APC Smart UPS 6000 and 1x Smart UPS 3000 management cards which are all AP9619 cards.  The UPS units are all connected to multiple devices and have x2 additional battery packs attached to each one.  My question is can I safely update this firmware 'SFSUMX372' without having any downtime or is the recommended way of doing this to power down devices before its done?  I couldn't find any official documentation on this matter, if someone could send me a link to something official from APC I would be much obliged. 

Thanks for any help!

Rob

[robclarke41_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 4/24/2014

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Anyone know anything about this?!

[BillP · Accepted solution]

This reply was originally posted by Angela on APC forums on 4/24/2014

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Hi Rob,

Yes, this is safe to do for your scenario. The Network Management Card itself will reboot during the process but this has no affect on the UPS output itself. The same goes for any device that has a Network Management Card and you reboot it or update the firmware.

*There are exceptions to devices such as Rack PDUs/power strips that if they are experiencing communication errors in the event log, they may lose communication with outlet status during a Network Management Card reboot. This is extremely rare but I have seen it before. What I said above applies to a typical scenario where there are no critical errors present on your Network Management Card relating to its own status. The communication alarm I noted would be present as a critical alarm. This behavior does not happen on a UPS though since a Switched Rack PDU is a different animal.* I just wanted to note that here though in case anyone else comes across this post in a search.

[robclarke41_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 4/25/2014

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Wow thanks Angela, that is a very helpful response!

One more question if I may (although I don't mind if you want me to repost as a separate question):

When running the firmware update file in Windows it asks me to put in a username and password.  I put in the username and password that I use to login to the web interface but it returns a login failed message.  Is there a restriction on the length of the password of something in the utility as we do use long passwords here.

Thanks

Rob

[BillP]

This reply was originally posted by Angela on APC forums on 4/25/2014

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Yes, there is I believe. I noted it in this article now that you reminded me -> How do I upgrade the firmware on an APC Network Management Card? | FAQs | Schneider Electric US

"If using the NMC1 executable, You will then be prompted to either 1) Continue with upgrade 2) Re-enter Parameters 3) Quit. Choose option 1 then enter. *In NMC1 Upgrade Utility v1.2 or higher, a username or password longer than 11 characters will be truncated. Thus, you will need to change the password to 11 characters or less or choose another firmware upgrade method. Reference the picture below on how to check your NMC Upgrade tool version."

I believe the firmware tool you're using is indeed v1.2 if you look on the top left of the command prompt window it launches.

Let me know if you have any other questions Rob.

[robclarke41_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 4/25/2014

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Hi Angela, thank you very much - with your help I was able to get everything up and running.  You really know your stuff and are a credit to your team!

Cheers

Rob

[BillP]

This reply was originally posted by John on APC forums on 4/28/2014

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Angela,

In regards to your comment "The same goes for any device that has a Network Management Card and you reboot it or update the firmware." for future clarity:

I believe the larger UPS units (Symmetra PX, etc) do shut down each module at a time to perform an update IF there is enough spare capacity to do so (N+1). So it doesn't "shut down" the unit but it does cycle the power modules. Also, I am sure you know, the InRows shut down for about a minute when they receive an update.

Regards,

J

[BillP]

This reply was originally posted by Angela on APC forums on 4/28/2014

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Hi J,

I am not aware of that requirement - only on Symmetra PX 250/500kVA where a field service engineer needs to perform the update and typically do a UPS update at the same time. I am not too familiar with the InRows either so my statement comes from experience with single phase UPS models and most 3 phase UPS models as well as Rack PDUs.