EcoStructure management via SmartConnect or NMC

[cburton]

Newbie here, first time post. 

We are a EcoStructure IT customer monitoring 75 or so APC SmartUPS units. Our team disagrees on the management abilities via the SmartUPS units with SmartConnect ports or the NMC cards. 

For new units purchased I have advocated to forgo the NMC because everything can be done via the SmartConnect port connected to EcoStructure IT for mgmt. including monitoring, firmware updating and configuration management. 

My team is telling me that is not the case that the NMC is still needed with every new SmartUPS we purchase because the SmartConnected units are limited to monitoring capabilities. Is there any documentation out there that will clear this up for me and my team? 

[spezialist]

Dear @cburton,

Let me start by saying that the advantage of new generation =SE= UPSs that have a special "Smartconnect ethernet port" is that using only one above mentioned port, the UPS can be connected both to the cloud services =SE= Eco Struxure IT (Expert or Asset Advisor) and to the dedicated cloud service =SE= SmartConnect (see smartconnect.apc.com) without using any intermediate software gateways (for example, you don't need to deploy =SE= Eco Struxure IT Gateway software).

Now about monitoring, firmware updating and configuration management for such =SE= UPSs: currently both the cloud services =SE= Eco Struxure IT and the dedicated cloud service =SE= SmartConnect allow to perform all the above mentioned tasks simply and easily via the special "Smartconnect ethernet port".
Details can be found on the EcoStruxure IT SmartConnect Help Center and on the EcoStruxure IT Help Center in the sections IT Expert and SmartConnect respectively.

For example, here is what it says about firmware upgrades on the dedicated cloud service =SE= SmartConnect:

---

Why Upgrade?

UPS firmware upgrades provide feature enhancements, performance improvements, and security updates for your UPS. The secure web portal will notify you when a firmware upgrade is available for your UPS, and you can initiate a remote firmware upgrade on your UPS directly from the web portal.

And for example, here's what it says about firmware upgrades on cloud services =SE= Eco Struxure IT Expert:

Firmware update in IT Expert

On the Management > Firmware Update tab in the IT Expert web interface, you can update the firmware on the APC devices monitored by your organization. You will see available firmware updates as soon as they are released.

[Cory_McDonald]

Hello @cburton,

The key help center article that outlines the differences between SmartConnect Ethernet Port integration or NMC/Gateway/ITE can be found here: https://community.se.com/t5/IT-Expert-via-ethernet-port/EcoStruxure-IT-features-available-for-Smart-...

Kind Regards,

Cory

[marting]

Couldn't find definitive info on this but this is the closest thread on the topic.

I think I know the answer to this but... is it possible to monitor/manage devices in EcoStruxure IT DCE (Data Center Expert) using the SmartConnect port?

[Cory_McDonald]

Hello @marting,

I recommend that you check our Help Center article that outlines the limitations of a SmartConnect (Ethernet) port integration instead of using an NMC. 

These are outlined in the following Help Center article: https://community.se.com/t5/IT-Expert-via-ethernet-port/EcoStruxure-IT-features-available-for-Smart-...

Kind Regards,
Cory

[marting]

Thanks, but the article is worded vaguely enough that it doesn't really answer my question: is it possible to monitor/manage devices in EcoStruxure IT DCE (Data Center Expert) using the SmartConnect port?

[Cory_McDonald]

@marting, 

Yes, it is, but some features will be limited.  See the middle column in the link that I provided above to see what the differences are feature wise with a connection via Ethernet Port and compare to the last column for what is available when you use a Network Management Card (NMC).

If you connected the Smart-UPS to the EcoStruxure IT SmartConnect Portal, you must remove it before you register the Smart-UPS with EcoStruxure IT Expert. 
See Can I register my SmartConnect-compatible UPS with more than one Schneider Electric account?

Regards,

Cory

[marting]

Thanks for the info, Cory.  Just to confirm: do the columns in the table apply to both the cloud version of EcoStruxure IT Expert as well as EcoStruxure IT Data Center Expert (on-prem)?