External Monitoring of UPS

[Anonymous user]

Hi all,

I am having a lot of trouble finding information on whether APS software has features that will allow me to monitor the UPS from another application. I need this because on loss of power I need not only to power down the PC, but first of all other equipment (a remotely controlled astronomical observatory, with a dome shutter, cameras, etc.).

Could anybody steer me in the right direction? Does APC provide and ActiveX interface, or can you monitor through the use of command lines?

Thanks for any input

Robert

[BillP]

which UPS are you looking to monitor?

[Anonymous user]

That's a purchase decision I still need to make as the project is still in the design phase. Right now, I am not yet in the position to specify power + battery amp-hour requirements. If the features I'm talking about are only available for higher-end models, it would be great to know the "entry-level" hardware-software combination, and where I could take a look at the manual(s).

Thanks

[BillP]

well..as far as UPS monitoring goes we basically have 2 major options.

1.) Network management card - this is available on any Smart UPS (besides SC product line) as well as anything larger in size. some models ship with one inside. this goes inside a UPS Smart Slot and you can monitor the UPS input voltage, runtime, etc as well as issue commands such as shutdown or reboots. the management card also provides email notifcations and advanced logging features as well as many more random features. it works in conjunction with Powerchute network shutdown. this is installed on any servers with a supported operating system. it communications with the management card via the network and will shutdown with the UPS signals it to based on events and conditions that you can configure.

[here is a link to the network management card options|http://www.apc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=98]

http://testdrive.apc.com - if you go here, you can "test drive" an APC management card. it is a live card that you can see.

this is the product i'd recommend personally. if you have multiple management cards or networked APC devices (and even some third party devices), you can manage them all via ISX central. you can see that here. not sure if thats what you are looking for either.

2.) PowerChute Business Edition - powerchute business edition works with mainly with Smart UPS (besides SC product line). it requires a direct physical connection to the UPS via serial or USB communication depending on the particular UPS. this software has majority of the same features as the network management card does. a single node version is available for free. you can install this on a single node on a supported operating system. the powerchute business edition agent will monitor the UPS and is also configurable for graceful shutdown of the operating system, just as powerchute network shutdown does for the network management card. a 5 node and 25 deluxe version of powerchute business edition is available for purchase if you'd like to monitor several different nodes connected to the UPS via serial port extenders (since as I noted, this requires physical connections to the UPS). you can also monitor different agents on the network which would be connected physically to their respective UPSs.

this option is most likely going to be more costly in the long run if you have multiple machines to shut down but the software is free for one node which is a plus.

a demo version of powerchute business edition deluxe is available on http://testdrive.apc.com as well.

[here is a link to powerchute business edition options|http://www.apc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=125]

let me know if you have any questions or if you were thinking of something totally different..

the best option definitely relies on your power and shutdown requirements.

[BillP]

Hi!

We have an APC Battery backup 650 va (Backup-UPS CS series)

On our client's computers there are several applications (services) running that should be shut down properly
when the main electricity goes off and the APC battery starts doing its job.
To do this, somehow I need to monitor the actual state of the battery (detect if it is in use).
Another thing is that we have linux operating system running on these computers.

So my question is: is there a way I can communicate with the battery (to detect if it is in use) from an external application (via USB)?

Does any of the PowerChute editions have a command line interface that could be used for this?


thanks for answering my questions!

[BillP · Accepted solution]

unfortunately no. some of this functionality is available on the larger, server class UPSs but not on the home and home office Back UPS that utilize powerchute personal edition.