smartups 1000 <> cisco 3560 switch

[Anonymous user]

This is not directly a ups question...

I have a smart ups 1000 (SUA1000) with just the usb and serial connections. Does anyone know if the serial cable be plugged into a switch (cisco 3560) and have the switch generate a snmt trap event for onbattery or other ups conditions?

[BillP]

Hi John,

I don't think so. The serial connection only speaks UPS-Link language (an APC UPS communication language) and I don't think any Cisco switches would speak that and be able to turn it into a trap.

I know with USB connections, many NAS are able to read the generic data that comes from there and turns them into notifications from its interface.

If you want SNMP support, the only thing I know for sure works is the UPS Network Management Cards (NMC) we offer that go in the UPS. The current models are AP9630/AP9631/AP9635 with the most basic being the AP9630 model. If you do not want to break the bank, you could look into acquiring the older AP9617/AP9618/AP9619 part number SmartSlot Cards which are discontinued and won't be getting any new firmware updates, major security updates, etc. AP9617 is the most basic there. Though, they supports SNMPv1/v3 and can do the basic traps you'd probably want - on battery, low battery, replace battery, etc. 

Your other options would be PowerChute Business Edition via USB or serial connection. PowerChute can work on Windows with the SNMP Agent Service depending on your version of Windows OS. (Some info here on set up) I do not think it is very robust but you could look into it before spending money on an NMC. I personally would recommend the AP9617 NMC to get you by and to be the easiest to work with and set up for what you probably expect.

Hope that helps you.

[Anonymous user]

Thanks Angela. An NMC may be the way to go - but I want to explore the options.

In a way this is more a cisco question - but this is probably a good place to ask it. I have this same model ups connected to a pc running linux. On that, there is the apcupsd package that can speak to this ups via serial or usb and I can have the PC send UPS status alerts or query it's properties with nagios. We have several switches that do not have some type of machine that run 24-7 nearby that can monitor the switches UPS. It is possible that there is a utility that runs on the switch's OS that can accomplish the same thing - and if there is, I'd like to find out... Also, I am not fixed on SNMP - that is just one of mechanism that is running on this switch.

[BillP · Accepted solution]

Hi John,

Ahh, I see. Yes, apcupsd is a good idea too.

I am not aware of anything that will run on Cisco iOS for this personally but I hope anyone will feel free to chime in with ideas. I am not a regular Cisco iOS either so maybe there is something out there. While I do think it'd be neat, I was wondering if it would it potentially impact the performance of the Cisco switch? A UPS has a lot of data points. I also wasn't sure if you can put third party code on the Cisco switches as opposed to a native little UPS monitoring utility.