Smart UPS 1500 - All interfaces dead?

[Anonymous user]

Hi,

I have recently got hold of a number of Smart UPS 1500 tower units with AP9617 network cards. Most have been performing well but one has been giving me problems more or less from the start. It was connected to a server via USB cable and the server would lose communications with the UPS after a few hours or days. Once the comms over USB had been lost it was then not possible to connect via serial or network and the UPS required a cold restart to get it talking again.

I had run out of things to try so I went through the firmware upgrade again (apc_hw02_aos373_sumx372.exe) just to make sure that it had updated everything and that the management interface and card etc were in step as I know on the other boxes that it didn't always take first time. The update appeared to work except that it could not reconnect to the card afterwards.

Now, I cannot connect to the UPS on the serial, USB or network ports. I have tried several power cycles and poking the network card reset slot but I get nothing on any of the ports. I used to get a funny character on the serial interface when the UPS booted but don't get that, if I plug in the USB cable to a computer I get no recognition at the computer end that anything has been plugged in and the network card just sits there with the amber light blinking slowly. It's basically like the whole management side has disappeared. The actual power elements of the UPS seem to work and the front panel lights all look normal. I can run a self-test from the power switch which looks ok, so the front side seems happy but the back side is completely dead.

I would be grateful for any suggestions about what to try next. I don't see a UPS wide reset function anywhere. Any ideas?

Phil

[BillP]

ok, so that isnt good. if you have reseated the card several times, the last thing i might try is inserting it into another UPS. also, check the card for any physical damage on the connectors. if the status LED still does not come on, the card probably needs to be replaced. can you get the serial number off of it or at least the first few digits like JA0749?

thanks

[BillP]

hi phil. initially this sounded like a UPS issue but now strictly just sounds like a network management card (NMC) issue. let me see if i can help.

to begin, i suggest removing the USB cable. the UPS is not really designed to have a USB cable connected and an NMC at the same time.

thus, i'd remove USB then braindead the UPS (remove attached load/power it down, turn UPS off and disconnect AC power, hold down (o) off button until you hear a click). then power everything back up and do not connect the USB cable.

can you please tell me if you have a serial cable available to access the serial port on the UPS and NMC? i'd suggest we get the APC serial cable out 940-0024 or 940-1524 specifically since it has a special pinout, and then connect at 2400, 8, N, 1, None to see if we get a username and password prompt from the NMC. these instructions are also here under local/terminal emulation.

lets start there and see if we get anything. also, on the LED indicators for the NMC, is amber blinking slowly on the link or status LED? the status LED is on the bottom right of the network jack.

thanks.

[Anonymous user]

Hi Jack,

Thanks for the speedy reply. I have done the full braindead restart minus USB cable but don't get any further, there is no response on the serial port. I don't know the exact part number but I know it is an APC serial cable and if I plug it into the next UPS along I can talk to it so I am sure my settings are correct. The blinking LED on the network port is the lower left orange one (look at the UPS from the back) and it is blinking around once per second. I have swapped the network cable and port on the switch with the next UPS to verify that there is no problem with the cable etc. I forgot to mention that I have removed the management card and tried restarting the UPS without it but that appeared to make no difference.

Phil

[BillP]

so the light on the bottom right hand side of the network jack that has a green check mark or orange X to it is not lit?

[Anonymous user]

Correct, no LED is lit on the right.

[Anonymous user]

Thanks. I will try and do that in the morning when it is a little lighter. However if it is a fault with the card then I would expect the UPS to talk over the serial link when the management card is not present, which it doesn't. I will see if I can swap cards to see if I can isolate the fault.

Phil

[BillP]

yes, i agree. it should. as far as the UPS, we may just have a coincidence. you need to make sure the UPS has definitely been braindead correctly or the serial port will be dead, even if the USB cable was only plugged in by accident once after your initial testing. make sure that cable is correct, which it seems you verified. does the other UPS you tested it on use 2400 baud rate as well?

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

Yes, both UPSs use 2400. I have done a bit of card swapping and it does appear to be the network card that is at fault.

I moved the network card from UPS1 (which is functioning) into UPS2 which is the unit I am having trouble with. I was then able to access that UPS by serial and network though it had somewhat conflicting identities as would be expected, the device manager indicated it was UPS2 whilst the network identity was UPS1.

I also tried the (apparently broken) card from UPS2 in UPS1 and it still appears dead. I could not communicate with that UPS either via serial or network and the LED on the card was still slow blinking.

I am a little confused by how the serial comms is supposed to work now as it appears that I can only communicate with a UPS over serial if it has a working network card in it. If a UPS has the broken card or none at all then the serial comms does nothing. Is this how it is meant to be as I have only ever used it with UPSs that have the cards in? If so then I am a little surprised, if not then what could I be doing wrong?