can i monitor multiple ups with a single pc?

[Anonymous user]

I have 3 SU1000's in the basement for my network gear, and another upstairs in my office. I use PBE to monitor the ups's, including the other smaller ones on other pc's in the house.

I'd like to install multiple rs-232 com ports on a single pc and monitor the 3 ups's in the basement, but I can't quite figure it out. I thought that maybe I could create 3 separate services, each monitoring a single com port, but scrolling through the registry, I'm not sure that is possible.

Anyone have any suggestions, hacks or other comments on how I might do this? I don't need shutdown capability, just the ability to monitor the ups remotely, preferably from a single location. Creating multiple unique com ports on a single pc is not a problem.

At the moment, to verify any one of the ups's, I have a laptop and I attach 1 unit at a time to make changes or check the status, etc. It would be nice if I could attach all 3 ups at the same time and have them monitored on the pc.

Any suggestions?

jc

[Anonymous user]

Ok. I understand that, but I'm not quite convinced yet.

After spending some time testing, here's what I found.

I have a pc setup with com1 and com3.
I have an SUA1000 on com1
I have a Smart-UPS 750 on com3

I add my device to the list and it joins just fine.
When I select my device from the configured list, select UPS Communications, it lets me select the COM port that I want to monitor. By changing this between COM1 and COM3, I can see both devices on my pc, individually, but not at the same time. The display changes to show which device is currently selected, and all of the displays update to show that device.

Ok, almost there.

So, I was trying to figure out how to create 2 agent services, one monitoring each com port. If you duplicate the agent directory and the agent registry entry, you can do this. And, I can start either agent service and it will work, but it will not work with both agent services started at the same time. The console or server gets confused, and basically just fails when it trys to add the device. I figure its because one agent is stepping on the other.

Now, you can only add a pc to the device list once. So, I was thinking that if you dual-homed the card on the pc, you could manually add the devices by IP address instead of host name (have to update the HOSTS file so that you don't have the same host name in the device list.)

Now, I can add either ip address to the device list individually, and both work, but when you try to add the second IP address to the device list, it gives you the message "unable to login".

It seems to me that there should be some way to define what interface the agent communicates through (ip address / port number) so that you could run multiple agents at a time. If you can see the ports individually, the only thing you have to do is to figure out how to get 2 agents running on different IP addresses so that you can define both to the console.

I know, probably more work than it's worth, but I've been thinking about it for awhile and it's something that I would benefit from so I'm trying to figure it out now.

Anyone know how to change what interface an agent listens on? Or another suggestion on how this might work?

jc

[TheNotoriousKMP_apc]

John,

The software uses port 3052 for an agent interface. However, in most instances, it uses the loopback adapter, and therefore you'd have to try and set something up where the Agent takes control of one NIC with one loopback address, and so on. The reason that they cannot see work with each other is because they control the OS shutdown. With two instances of the agent running, you're running two pieces of software that are controlling two shutdowns, and with two UPS's, the runtime may differ. You're going to have to find a way to change the shutdown so that when the first one sends a shutdown command, it would override that and wait for a second shutdown command (much the same way a Custom install on PCNS would work by pointing to multiple network management cards in multiple UPS's). I am going to rely on other people that are not APC tech reps on this to help you out. The problem is that most of this is unsupported and would essentially be considered a work around.

[Anonymous user]

Hmmmm, good point. However, the only thing this pc would be used for is to monitor the UPS's. If one of them went on battery and shut down the pc, that would be okay.

So I think I need to find where the IP address gets set for the agent since it looks like that is the deciding factor.

I understand this is a workaround. It's certainly not something I would ask for support on, since it includes hacking the registry. Don't think anyone would touch a ticket if I tried to explain what i did 🙂

Thanks for the info.

Can anyone direct me to where they think I can modify the agent code to grab a particular address, or particular host file entry, instead of Loopback?

Message was edited by: johncarn

[Anonymous user]

I seem to recall you can only monitor one serially connected UPS using PowerChute, but you can use AP9605 or 9606 network cards to monitor multiple UPSs through the LAN. These cards are quite economical on eBay.

[Anonymous user]

Hmm, interesting. I didn't think that those devices did exactly what I was looking for.

If I have an AP9605 installed on the network, does it look like a Powerchute agent running and displayed in the Powerchute console?

If not, how to you monitor the device? Can it be done with Powerchute, or do you need something else like HP openview?

jc

[Anonymous user]

Hello,

The AP9605 and AP9606 are very old web cards for our UPS units. They have been replaced with the AP9617 Network Management Cards. These allow the UPS to have an IP address and the units can be configured/monitored via HTTP, SNMP, Telnet, SSH, etc. The most simple way is to hit the IP of the UPS via Internet Explorer for a user friendly interface. The interface for the 9605 and 9606 is different from the interface for the 9617, and they have significantly less options for configuration.

You can check out our Demo for the 9617 and other Network Cards through the following link:

http://testdrive.apc.com/

PowerChute would only be used to gracefully shutdown any Computer on the network that is being monitored by the UPS and Network Card. You do not need PowerChute to monitor the UPS itself if it is on the network.

[Anonymous user]

Sgt. Slaughter, I have a AP9605 in a smartups 1400 rack mount. I have never used it but want to now. How do I log in to it? Is there a default IP? Is it setup for DHCP? Please help, also let me know if I need to make this a new thread.

Thanks!

[TheNotoriousKMP_apc]

Hello,

I don't think you're going to be able to get what you want from the AP9605, as it's just a Powernet SNMP Adapter. You may be better off with an AP9617, the basic Network Management Card, or refurbished AP9606 card from possibly eBay.

[Anonymous user]

What's the difference between the AP9605 and AP9606 cards? I'm having trouble finding any information on them.

jc

[TheNotoriousKMP_apc]

For starters, both are discontinued and greatly outdated. The AP9605 was the precursor to an AP9606. The 9605 was simply an SNMP adapter, had no visual web interface. The AP9606 introduced the web interface, and with later revisions, worked with Email settings as well, but no data logging capabilities. That was all replaced some time ago by the AP9617 which compiles all of the prior settings on the cards, and adds a data log as well as more customizable notifications of events.

[Anonymous user]

Thanks for responding! Ya, I would love the web interface to send me an email on items of interest, like batteries are old, or the power is out etc. But my company has a EMS like 'open view' that can monitor it via snmp, so I could get some of the stuff I need.

But you're saying I should be able to replace the AP9605 with a 9617 in that rack mount 1400? Are all of those cards interchangeable?

Thanks again!

[Anonymous user]

Hello,

Yes these cards are interchangable, but they need to be installed correctly into the UPS. The UPS needs to be turned off, load disconnected, and unplugged from the wall. After that, you need to hold the Off button for 10 secs or so, to completely Brain Dead the unit to reset the EEPROM for the new card. Once you've done this, old and new cards can be installed/removed without issue.

If you do not Brain Dead the unit, there is a slight possibility the cards can get damaged on removal/install.

Thanks.

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

I have 3 SU1000's in the basement for my network gear, and another upstairs in my office. I use PBE to monitor the ups's, including the other smaller ones on other pc's in the house.

I'd like to install multiple rs-232 com ports on a single pc and monitor the 3 ups's in the basement, but I can't quite figure it out. I thought that maybe I could create 3 separate services, each monitoring a single com port, but scrolling through the registry, I'm not sure that is possible.

Anyone have any suggestions, hacks or other comments on how I might do this? I don't need shutdown capability, just the ability to monitor the ups remotely, preferably from a single location. Creating multiple unique com ports on a single pc is not a problem.

At the moment, to verify any one of the ups's, I have a laptop and I attach 1 unit at a time to make changes or check the status, etc. It would be nice if I could attach all 3 ups at the same time and have them monitored on the pc.

Any suggestions?

jc