Monitoring the APC UPS

eG Enterprise provides a specialized monitoring model for APC UPS’ (see Figure 1) that monitors the network connectivity and the internal workings of a UPS, and proactively alerts administrators to potential performance issues.

Figure 1 : The layer model of the APC UPS

Every layer of Figure 1 is mapped to some tests, which collect a wide range of performance data from the SNMP MIB of the UPS device, so that administrators can find accurate answers to the following performance queries:

• What is the current state of the UPS?
• Is the UPS accessible over the network?
• What is the current state of the UPS battery? Will the battery be able to sustain the current load?
• Has the battery capacity been utilized fully?
• Are any defective battery packets in use currently? Do they need to be replaced?
• Is the battery bus currently handling a very high voltage?
• Is the battery temperature maintained at a minimum or has it increased?
• Are any UPS components in an abnormal state currently?
• Did your environment experience a power shutdown recently? For how long were the systems supported by the UPS battery when there was no power supply? How much longer can the UPS battery be used?

The following sections deal with the first two layers of Figure 1, as the final layer has already been discussed in the Monitoring Unix and Windows Servers.