for interaction with APC Back-UPS and Back-UPS Pro UPSs

This is not the first review of the software offered by the brand APC to interact with uninterruptible power supplies produced under this brand - on our pages there is already material dedicated to it, but it was published more than 10 years ago, and it’s time to talk about a more recent version.

Let us immediately note: in the current version 3.0.2 the program is intended only for working with the MS Windows operating system. Mac OS users will have to use the built-in shutdown function - an analogue of Smart Battery; There is no indication in official sources regarding Linux versions.

As the name suggests, the software is intended for personal use, which, however, does not exclude its installation on office computers, but there are no server options in the list of supported versions of Windows, except perhaps Home Server.

In addition to the name and functionality, the software options also differ in purpose: for example, the Personal Edition will work with the APC Back-UPS and Back-UPS Pro lines, and the Business Edition is offered for APC Smart models.

There are other types of PowerChute - Business Edition Deluxe, Network Shutdown, with different SKUs. We will not provide a cumbersome table comparing them; interested readers can get information on the official website of APC or the Schneider Electric company, which owns this brand. Let's just note the main thing: the PowerChute Business Edition program is able to work with both server versions of Windows and variations of the Linux OS; however, we did not find any mention of Mac OS.

Installation

PowerChute Personal Edition(PCPE) can be supplied on a CD included with the UPS, or can be freely downloaded from the company’s official website.

Software downloads on the site are offered separately for different versions of Windows, from Vista to Windows 10. Installation on Windows XP is not excluded, you just need to additionally install the .NET framework. The program interface supports several languages, including Russian.

We didn’t have the task of checking whether the installation files were different, so we simply downloaded the distribution kit for Windows 10, the most current one for today and for the foreseeable future (there is only one installation file on the CD). Registration is mentioned among the download steps, but it is not mandatory.

The installation procedure does not have any difficulties; the UPS can be connected to the USB port of the computer before it begins (in fact, this is what the instructions recommend doing), but you can connect it later, upon request.

Upon completion, the program kindly asks if we agree to receive notifications about software updates and send information about power quality to APC; You can refuse both, but then enable these functions in the PowerChute settings.

The last stage, also optional, is an invitation to register the product online.

Working with the program

After installation, PowerChute is included in startup, a corresponding icon appears in the notification area, clicking on which will open the program window.

In addition, the state of the power supply and the UPS is constantly monitored; in the event of any events (for example, the voltage in the external network is lost or restored), a pop-up message is displayed. Turning off the UPS using the button is not considered an event - monitoring continues and status information continues to be displayed.

If you hover the pointer over the program icon in the notification area, a message will appear with information about the current status. But here not everything can be smooth: for example, for the backup UPS BC750-RS, which does not have an AVR, the line stubbornly reported the AVR boost mode, even when the source was turned off with a button, and its input had a nominal 220-230 V.

The appearance of the icon also depends on the state of the UPS: when operating on battery power, a battery symbol appears on it, and if there are any problems, an exclamation mark in a yellow triangle appears.

We tested the program with two UPS models: the already mentioned BC750-RS from the Back-UPS line and the more advanced BR1500G-RS, part of the Back-UPS Pro line.

Section "System Monitoring"

The first item in this section is the event log; you can display lists for the last 1–4–12–24 weeks. Naturally, the log is saved in the computer’s memory, and if you shut down the OS, there will be no recording of events.

No less useful is the following tab - “ Current state».

Of course, the battery charge level is of most interest; the input voltage value is also useful.

The “Energy consumption” parameter is unlikely to be as interesting: you intuitively understand what the developers wanted to say, but the scheme for calculating consumption remains unclear - either from the beginning of the current day, or over the last 24 hours, or on average per day, but Then I would like to know the counting period. Even the units of measurement create confusion: in the program window - “kWh per day”, and in the help - even “energy consumption kW/day”, although even schoolchildren know that to calculate energy, power (watts, kilowatts) is multiplied by time, and doesn't share. (If you imagine that the letter “h” is simply lost in the text, then it doesn’t become any clearer: dividing by a day (or day) means averaging, but for what period is not clear, and why such average data is needed is also necessary.)

Below the load is displayed in the form of a scale, the divisions of which depend on the power of a particular UPS (in the previous screenshot, a BC750-RS with a maximum power of 415 W was connected, in the next - BR1500G-RS, 865 W), as well as in the form of a numerical value. Naturally, we are talking about outputs with battery support, and sockets with protection only from impulse noise (Back-UPS/Back-UPS Pro sources also have these) are not taken into account.

It should be noted that the polling frequency is not at all small fractions of a second, so changes in the load or input will be displayed with some delay, and short-term ones may not be shown at all. In this case, for example, power readings can be set in stages, increasing over 4-5 seconds, and to take readings you need to wait until the end of this process.

And one more thing: the PowerChute program itself does not measure anything, it only displays data received from the UPS, that is, we can only talk about the measurement error in relation to a specific source. Our research with two different APC models showed that, for example, the same 50W ±5% lab load was reported as 45W by the BC750-RS, but as 43W by the BR1500G-RS, and a 25W ±5 load. % - as 20 and 17 W, respectively. That is, the accuracy is sufficient for practical assessments, but the means built into uninterruptible power supplies are still not suitable for the role of precision laboratory meters.

By the way, only active power is displayed (in watts), but if, for example, you connect a load of 200 VA with PF = 0.7, the value of 140 W will be displayed.

As it turned out when testing one of these models, the displayed information about the battery charge level is also an estimate, and to be sure, it is still better to focus on the declared typical time if a full charge according to PCPE occurs very quickly.

In addition, load power indicators may not be present in all models, and some may also display frequency - at least that’s what the help says, but with the Back-UPS and Back-UPS Pro models we tested, only power and voltage, although the BR1500G-RS's LCD display also displays the frequency of the output voltage.

In the “basement” of each window there are three information plaques of varying degrees of usefulness. The right one shows the operating mode - from the mains, from batteries. The middle one displays the expected battery life for the current load and at the current charge level; This could be considered very useful, but the results of our tests do not always coincide with such predictions, and they should be taken only as estimates and approximate ones.

Finally, on the left plate three values ​​​​succeed each other: the consumption and cost of consumed electricity in rubles (we talked about the practical value of such figures a little higher), as well as the intensity of CO 2 emissions - we’ll talk about how it is calculated below.

The same thing, with additions, is repeated on the “ Energy consumption", and here it becomes possible to specify the period: for the last day, week, month, year. In addition, you can independently enter the real current price of a kilowatt-hour of electricity, but only for a single round-the-clock tariff, and if the consumer has a multi-zone meter, then he himself will have to calculate a certain average cost.

Among the additives of dubious value are the number of trees that will absorb the released amount of CO 2, as well as the equivalents - the operation of an incandescent lamp for such and such a time and the emission of carbon dioxide when driving a car for such and such a distance. With regard to green spaces, values ​​like “0.1 trees” are a little annoying - for some reason I remember a Soviet cartoon in which a careless schoolboy, solving a problem about the workers needed to dig a trench, received the answer “one and a half diggers.”

Perhaps there are some standards describing the average tree in terms of carbon dioxide absorption or a power plant/car in terms of its emission, which formed the basis for such calculations, but then it would be nice to provide the corresponding explanations and references, and not in the form of abstract references Eurostat, American EIA or Russian REC, as is done in the program reference. The phrase “carbon dioxide data... comes... from the power plant supplying your system with alternating current” is, to put it mildly, hard to believe; about the car it is said that it is “medium-sized family” and for the “average family”, and about the tree - “medium-sized, with an average ability to absorb carbon dioxide,” but without specifying who, where and how such statistics were collected. And the next mention in the help text of a “compact fluorescent 20-watt ENERGY STAR CFL” lamp contradicts what is written in the corresponding window - “the operation of an incandescent lamp” (however, in the picture next to it, the light bulb looks more like an energy-saving one).

Another section tab, “ Start self-diagnosis", is also unlikely to be a very popular program among the user: from it you can start a self-test cycle, which already runs every time you turn on the UPS with a button, and if the source operates continuously, then every two weeks automatically. You can also enter the date of installation/replacement of the battery - it is recommended to change it after three years; but batteries are most often used “all the way” (for example, until the UPS, after being turned on again, refuses to work, indicating the “Replace Battery” state), and besides, the date is probably saved in the computer’s memory, and it’s quite likely that in three years or the computer will be changed, or the software on it will be reinstalled, and not necessarily with the preservation of data from PowerChute.

Section "Settings"

On the first tab with the name " Options» you can turn off PowerChute beeps (namely programs, but not the UPS or Windows pop-up notification sounds), control the display of the program icon on the taskbar, and also change the settings offered during the installation process regarding notifications about software updates and sending information to APC about the quality of power supply.

« Battery life» allows you to make a choice for battery mode to either save battery charge by setting the interval from switching to battery mode until the computer goes into sleep mode:

Or in favor of the maximum operating time of the connected computer, then you need to determine how long before the expected depletion of the charge it will switch to power saving mode:

The functions are useful, but you need to take into account the nuances. Firstly, under very heavy loads, battery life can last only a few seconds, which may not be enough even to put the computer into hibernation mode: to write a voluminous file hiberfil.sys the hard drive takes time. Secondly, you never know exactly how the external network will behave - in all energy-saving modes, the computer’s consumption is not zero, and if for some reason it is switched to sleep mode rather than hibernation, then during prolonged shutdowns the remaining charge will be gone. it may not be enough, and then the computer will turn off completely with the loss of unsaved data. Finally, actual battery life may be significantly less than expected. That is, it is very difficult to give any recommendations on choosing one of the proposed settings and the time value for it.

By the way, the type of energy-saving mode that the computer should go into (sleep, hibernation, hybrid) is set not in PowerChute, but in the Windows advanced power settings settings.

Putting the computer into power saving mode will be preceded by a corresponding message, and the procedure can be canceled - if, of course, you have time to notice the warning and react to it.

Tab " Message» makes it possible to control the signals of the UPS itself: turn them off, turn them on again, and also turn them off for a certain period of time during the day.

It must be said that these settings are not remembered by the source (at least not by every model): if you shut down the OS on the computer and turn off the power to the UPS, then the next time you turn it on, the signals may sound again - until PowerChute starts.

The last two bookmarks of the section, “ Sensitivity" And " Voltage", are responsible for the same thing, only in different forms: they determine the behavior of the UPS in the event of voltage deviations in the supply network - the first in the form of three gradations:

And the second indicating specific thresholds, upper and lower:

If the UPS is configured without a computer, the corresponding values ​​will be read from the source and displayed in these program tabs. If the settings are made from the program, then, unlike turning off sound signals, they will be remembered by the source even after it is disconnected from the network and then turned on without interacting with PCPE.

A number of APC Back-UPS units have an automatic shutdown feature when no load is present while running on battery power to conserve battery power - typically for loads less than 15 watts and a duration of 15 minutes. However, you can work with light loads, you just need to disable this function; Unfortunately, we did not find such a setting in PCPE, and we will have to use the built-in source tools, which is not always convenient.

For the Back-UPS Pro UPS, an additional tab appears in this section “ Power management" Initially it contains only general information.

If you enable power management by checking the checkbox in the appropriate line, settings will appear.

Some clarification is necessary here. In the BR1500G-RS model, among the output sockets provided with battery support, the control Master and controlled ones stand out; When a device connected to the control outlet (such as a computer) goes into sleep or standby mode or is turned off, the controlled devices (speakers, scanner, etc.) will also be turned off to reduce power consumption, and when the Master is turned on, they will automatically turn on.

And in this window, a number of parameters are determined, including delays (separately for turning off and turning on) relative to the Master - they can be set from the presets of the energy saving plan or by entering a specific value in minutes or seconds.

Naturally, the load on the control output may not go to zero, but simply decrease significantly, so it is possible to set a threshold after which the controlled outputs are turned off. This can also be done by selecting a preset value or setting your own in the range from 10 to 80 W (why you can’t make it smaller or larger is hard to say).

Finally, by clicking the button at the bottom of the window, you can turn on these outputs at any time if they are turned off.

In addition, for each model, the program sets its own list of available values ​​in the “Voltage” tab, and the sensitivity intervals will also have their own. Above we provided screenshots for the BC750-RS, but here’s what we get for the BR1500G-RS:

We did not find any other differences when connecting UPSs from different models.

Help and Support section

There is no point in dwelling on this section for a long time: it contains standard information about the PowerChute program and a call to help, a form for sending messages or requests to the manufacturer, as well as data output, including the model of the connected UPS, serial number and its firmware version.

Bottom line

Software PowerChute Personal Edition designed for APC by Schneider Electric UPS lines Back-UPS and Back-UPS Pro, offering a sufficient number of functions for most SOHO users. In addition to control and monitoring, the program displays a number of energy consumption parameters, including mains voltage and frequency, load, as well as battery charge status and estimated battery life at current charge and load levels.

The program can be installed on desktop versions of MS Windows, as well as Windows Home Server.

The presence or absence of some features will depend on the specific UPS model.

The software does not provide for remote notification or control of multiple sources, which limits corporate use, however, there is also a more advanced version of the Business Edition in this regard - however, it works with other lines of APC UPS, but can be installed on both server versions of Windows and computers with Linux.

APC products provided by the manufacturer

Uninterruptible power supply devices have become a necessity for any modern office or enterprise. In addition to being used on server stations, they are also actively installed for desktop computers in workplaces.

It often happens that unexpected power outages or power surges can lead to data loss. First of all, this may affect actions related to databases. If a session or connection is terminated incorrectly, its structure may be completely disrupted and important information may be lost. Of course, you can restore the database from backups, but it will take additional time, and there is also the possibility of irretrievable loss of information.

Thus, in order to avoid the loss of important data and files, as well as to protect devices from breakdowns associated with voltage surges and sudden power outages, it is worth purchasing an uninterruptible power supply unit.

One of the world leaders in the production of these devices is the APC company. Especially for setting up its products, the company has developed a system utility called PowerChute.

Using the free PowerChute program in Russian for Windows, you can select the desired operating mode of the device, adjust the automatic actions of the computer when turned off, view the status of the installed battery, etc.

When running for the first time, PowerChute will check the unit's direct connection to the computer and evaluate its operating status. A separate window will indicate the active connectors, as well as the parameters of the incoming and outgoing voltage. In the battery status menu, you can find out its wear percentage and estimate the remaining operating time.

In the utility menu there is a function to control the sound signals that your device produces. They can be turned off or on indefinitely, or removed completely.

In the event of a power outage, the user can select the “Automatically turn off the computer” option. It makes it possible to save battery consumption.

The PowerChute program has many useful functions and settings that will help you adapt the operation of the unit to your needs, and you can download the Russian version for free.

September 1, 2014 at 03:29 pm

Automate installation of Powerchute Business Edition

• Server administration

Preface

Recently, my manager set the task of automating the installation and configuration of the Powerchute Business Edition product on a large number of servers, with different UPS, USB, COM connection interfaces. Previously, I was involved in automating the installation of various software, but this was the first time I encountered the type of configuration files that this product uses. The thing is that the configuration file uses binary java files, which can be modified by a utility with a GIU interface; it is not suitable for solving the problem.

Powerchute Business Edition from the inside

Let's take a closer look at the product; it can be obtained on the official APC website in the section. After downloading we receive the file pcbesetup.exe with it it is possible to install three components: agent, server, console. The agent installs drivers on the UPS and is responsible for automatically shutting down the server in the event of a power failure. The server connects to the agent, reads the UPS status, and in case of problems can send an alert by email. Console, GUI interface for configuring the server and agent. There are three components but one file, to get them separately we will use the usual WinRAR, open the downloaded file, go to the bin folder. We see our three components, but there are four folders, more on that later.

Automation of component installation

Since the inhaler files are made in InstallShield, it is possible to create a response file, as described on the manufacturer’s website. From the beginning you need to place all the unzipping files, for example, in the following path C:\APC, then install the components in the given order from the command line:

1. C:\APC\agent-upslink\setup.exe -r installation of agent version 9.0.3
2. C:\APC\agent\setup.exe -r agent update to version 9.1.1
3. C:\APC\server\setup.exe -r installation of server version 9.1.1
4. C:\APC\console\setup.exe -r install console 9.1.1

After each installation a response file will be created C:\Windows\setup.iss, which must be copied to the directory with the installer. It is important that when installing the agent, UPS detection occurs automatically; this will make it possible in the future to install the agent with different USB and COM connection interfaces; it will detect the UPS itself. Now let’s check that the answer files work, remove the installed components, and install them again with the s key.

1. C:\APC\agent-upslink\setup.exe -s
2. C:\APC\agent\setup.exe -s
3. C:\APC\server\setup.exe -s
4. C:\APC\console\setup.exe -s

As you can see, the installation was successful:

The components have been installed, now they need to be configured. The agent is configured during installation; a login and password are specified, which are saved in a file C:\Windows\setup.iss, we have already configured it earlier when we created the answer file. Now comes the most interesting part of setting up the server with a binary java file. Open the console and delete the previously configured UPS.

After adding a new client, it is important to indicate in the search range to get hooked 127.0.0.* , this is necessary for automation, since different servers will have different agent addresses, and we will not edit the configuration file manually.

We set up sending notifications by email, in the Tools > Chenge Configuration Profile section, I won’t describe each field and everything is clear.

Everything necessary for automation is there, copy it to the files with the server settings, along the following path C:\Program Files (x86)\APC\PowerChute Business Edition\server, files m11.bak, m11.cfg. to the C:\APC\server\ directory, delete all previously installed PowerChute components, and install them using a PowerShell script, the listing is given below. The logic of the script is as follows: go to the directory where the script file is located, install and update the agent, install the server, stop the server service, change the configuration files, start the server service, install the console.

Function InstallPowerShute( .\APC\agent-upslink\setup.exe -s | Out-Null .\APC\agent\setup.exe -s | Out-Null $PowerChuteServerFolder= $(env:ProgramFiles(x86)) + "\ APC\PowerChute Business Edition\server" $PowerChuteServerFile1= $PowerChuteServerFolder + "\m11.bak" $PowerChuteServerFile2= $PowerChuteServerFolder + "\m11.cfg" .\APC\server\setup.exe -s | Out-Null Stop-Service APCPBEServer -Force | Out-Null remove-item -path $PowerChuteServerFile1 -force remove-item -path $PowerChuteServerFile2 -force Copy-Item ".\APC\server\m11.bak" -Destination $PowerChuteServerFolder Copy-Item ".\APC \server\m11.cfg" -Destination $PowerChuteServerFolder Start-Service APCPBEServer | Out-Null .\APC\console\setup.exe -s | Out-Null ) function Get-ScriptPath( Split-Path -Path $MyInvocation.ScriptName ) $path = Get-ScriptPath cd $path InstallPowerShute

I hope everything works out for you.

Thank you for your attention.

The PowerChute utility is designed to monitor the health of an APC UPS and safely shut down when the battery is low. The program supports various languages, including Russian.

In the Personal version, home Windows from XP and older are available; in Business, in addition to them, Linux (RHEL and SUSE, 32/64-bit), Hyper-V and ESXi are added. Network Shutdown editions are released separately for conventional operating systems (Linux, Solaris, Windows Server 2008/2012 - all x86/x64, as well as Mac OS X, Hyper-V x64, etc.) and for virtualization environments (Hyper-V x64, VMware ESX /ESXi/Virtual Appliance, Win Server 2008/2012 x64 editions). All installers are available freely.

ProgramPowerChute

The PowerChute utility provides the user with a simple interface to view UPS parameters, collected statistics (power consumption, carbon dioxide production during operation, etc.), and to configure the shutdown mode when the main power source is removed. Significantly reduces the risk of losing unsaved data and minimizes power-on recovery time. Features vary depending on version. Supported UPS models also vary depending on the PowerChute edition.

The Personal version is suitable for personal use. It allows you to assess the status of the UPS, automatically logs data on power failures, and can safely shut down your PC.

The Business option is intended for companies and allows control of up to 25 machines. It can be integrated into an enterprise management system, configured to work with multiple UPSs (including shutdown order), enable alerts, logging, and automatic execution of scripts in case of failures. Statistics are collected in an expanded format.

The editors of Network Shutdown can handle the maintenance of a full-fledged infrastructure of physical and virtual servers/clients. Its control capabilities are maximum and allow the most flexible configuration.