UPS

To monitor (?) the UPS over the network one has to purchase a UPS network management card.

Says who? Your vendor? APS? Other??

What I mean is—and maybe this depends on your definition of "monitor"—why bother with hardware-controlled "monitoring" (on, presumably, a LAN) when the Comm interface capability provides the means for software to do the same things:

• Initiate backup/shutdowns on all network peers
• Provide GUI for viewing/adjusting status, alerts, reports, settings...

With my peer-peer network & Smart UPS, a (so-called) "Server" program runs on the computer nearest the box; "client" programs are installed and run on other computers. These software were provided along with the UPS.

Or maybe I'm not understanding or have misinterpreted your question?

Of cause you could if the ethernet adapter (or card) would have usb interface! and you can physical link each ohter.

But this adaptor usually hasnt got such interface. unless it s intellegent and carry a ARM chip inside.

why not read the adapter manual to see if it can link a usb device?

in fact, you can connect it to computer usb interface and use power management software to monitor it. this computer can be on net and then controolled by ohter computer on the net.

I have been using APC UPS for some years. The last 3 have been with a USB connection to the PC. No problems. It has always shut down on failure but I have so few failures these days - albeit many very short term ones that the UPS rides over them.

USB is fine, much better than the old Com port one, I used to fnd this notoriously unreliable - probably a Com Port issue with the PC.

I concur with percieved wisdom that the UPS is designed for relatively short term outages; enough to get the PC switched off safely.

One other issue is that the UPS delivers anything but a sinewave!

Whether this will affect the application I do not know -outside my bailiwick.

Bon Chance

Thanks everyone for your responses.

I will be using the UPS to backup a modem, router and a dataacquisition module which has its own processor and firmware. There is no PC conected to the UPS directly. Although, we communicate with the DAQ over internet from remote location. I know its a long shot - but would it be possible to use some USB to ethernet adapter and monitor the UPS?

There is a RS-232 port on DAQ which I can use and write program to read data from UPS. But the APC tech support says that UPS can be monitore using their program only n ofcourse they were tring to sell the network card.

UPS delivers anything but a sinewave

I can sell you one, brand new, that delivers full sine wave.

CowAnon,

thanks for that piece of information.

I use APC devices which seem to say "do not expect a sine wave from me"

Obviously a sine wave, or some sort can be obtained with filtering and or a filter as part of the electronics. I won't rush to buy one as I have never seen any prooblem from the ones that I use.

I could, of course, have misread the data that I have?

Thanks for the information, a waking Sleepy!

Sleepy,

Not a problem.

Here's some information about it....informative, links to additional info. You might check some of these search items (note the Global Spec item) as well. I did not have time to check more than one of them.

To CowAnon,

thanks for that; I basically agree with all that you have said; I get the impresion, however, that our contibutor was trying to work with what he had. This could be anything.

Happy Days

Sleepy

Are you hoaxing CowAnon?