APC Powerchute / Network Card Setup

[1DMF]

Hi,

We have purchased a new APC UPS 1500VA with network card, I have looked at the setup instructions and I can't seem to work out how i should connect it to the server.

1. As we have a network card does this mean I DO NOT connect the server direct to the UPS via console or USB connector cable?

2. The instructions tell you to get a network cable and plug it into the network card in the UPS, however it doesn't tell you where to plug the other end of the network cable?

Ok I'm assuming it goes into our switch, but assuming anything can be dangerous so thought I would as the question before pluging anything in!

3. Do I still need the full APC Powerchute software installed as well as the APC Network Manager software that came with the network card or just the network card software?

Your help is appreciated.

1DMF.

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

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[FredWagner]

There must be some more documentation, either printed, or on a CD-ROM with the unit. For the size of the unit, it would probably expect to plug into a switch, and use DHCP to get an IP address. The supplied software would know who to query for it. Read the books a little deeper, or go to the

http://www.apc.com

and explore the Support tab - there's a FAQ that might help, a place to post the question, and numbers to call.

Fred Wagner

 

[1DMF]

Hi Fred,

Yes there is a User Manual (Blue CD Rom), But the paper installation manual I was reading has nothing about where to stick the other end.

It does mention on the next page about TCP/IP configuration methods and one includes DHCP, so again must assume that means plug it into the swith and let the gateway DCHP server assign it an IP.

It still wouldn't hurt for the instructions to explicity state that you plug the other end into the network / switch / router.

It's my first UPS with a network card, so I'm trying to do things slowly, carefully and by the book, I could accept it if this was an RTFM issue , but it aint, it's a TFM sucks issue!





"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"

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[FredWagner]

If you were to plug the cable from the NIC in an UPS directly into a NIC on a server, it wouldn't work unless you used a special Crossover cable with certain pairs reversed. It would be highly unusual to have a NIC devoted just to connecting to an UPS. Serial Ports yes, one connection per device. When I was doing servers, one server had the serial connection to the UPS, and ran monitoring software,and the other servers ran software that listened to the primary for the message that they needed to shut down. Others run the servers at work, and my UPS at home connects to the only non-laptop PC via USB.
Try loading the CD-ROM, and you may be pleasantly surprised - it may look for the UPS, and ask you to put it on the system if it doesn't find it.

Fred Wagner

 

[1DMF]

In the end i rung APc support and got through to a very nice and extremely helpful lady.

she walked me through getting the latest Power Chute Network Shutdown (PCNS) software as the one that came on the disk is out of date.

She helped me configure the Network Card Management (NCM) software and it's all set up and running fine.

There is no need for the APC Powerchute Business Edition software to be installed and all you install on each server that needs to be controlled by the UPS is install the PCNS software on it.

There is a caveat however, we will soon be getting SBS 2011 with our new servers and currently there is no compatible PCNS software or none that is tested and officially compatible!

So looks like there could be another headache round the corner!


"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"

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[FredWagner]

1DMF - as you're discovering, 'it never ends' - the challenges, that is. I trust you let the APC support person know that you'd really appreciate it if there would be a SBS-friendly PCNS in the near future. Depending on how worried you are, it might be worth holding off on the SBS migration until you will have full hand-holding with your UPS's - the one thing that's certain in the IT world is that there WILL be power and or cooling failures, and having one's equipment and plans in place to handle them gracefully makes live MUCH better! And good vendor support is worth more than price, any day. The white papers on APC's site are an excellent way to stay up on power protection technology.

Good luck, and stay in touch~!


Fred Wagner

 

[1DMF]

Well it's not an SBS issue persae, we are currently running SBS 2003 and the 2003 software seems to work fine (well not had a power outage to see if it shuts the server down, so I see a test on the horizon!)

It's that SBS2011 is so new that there is no official version yet, but she did agree that the SBS2008 version 'might' work.

We have no choice in the migration, our server is litteraly on it's last legs, no disk space, exchange dismounting, too many users and remote users all accessing SQL it's dying and we will be lucky if it lasts the rest of the year when it will be replaced.

The current UPS was sold to us by the company who will be doing the new installation and migration, so if it isn't fit for purpose, when they know what purpose it is meant to be for (hence getting the network card version ready for our two server SBS 2011 install), they will have to replace it with something that is suitable ;-)

I must say though, that was one of the nicest support calls i've made in long time, CA ArcServe backup used to be awesome till they moved their call centres, we will be replacing them for backup exec , though the thought of having to ring Symantec support isn't something i'm looking forward to, unless they have improved things over the last few years!

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"

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[FredWagner]

The vendor doing the installation should make sure that everything is compatible -and I know what you mean about getting off a platform that is getting 'iffy'. on the backups - back in my days with Netware, I loved ArcServe, never did get fully comfortable with Backup Exec. Fortunately, in my current organization, we have an admin for B/E who just 'lives' there !
On the support issue - agreed - having the support specialist on the same continent, a native speaker of one's language, helps a lot!

Fred Wagner