UPS management using SNMP From local to remote administration

The value of UPS's for the protection of local area networks is widely accepted. Using a serial connection between the UPS and the server, UPS operation can be monitored locally. File shutdown procedures can consequently be initiated automatically at the end of battery backup time. With the increasing interconnection of networks in large companies, it has become necessary to provide more sophisticated functions. With the centralization of network administration, it is no longer possible to manage communication between the UPS and the server at a local level.

Operating principle

The importance of the UPS with respect to the network - in its role as a fault-tolerant power supply system - means that it is essential that it be administrated by SNMP, in the same way as other sensitive components such as hubs or routers. When a UPS is administrated by a network, UPS data is collected by an agent and may be viewed by an administration station on the network. If action is required (shutdown, for example), the relevant command will be sent to a specific process running on the system protected by the UPS.

Benefits of SNMP administration

The use of SNMP for UPS administration offers the following advantages:

• Remote control of components protected by the UPS; it is, for instance, possible to reboot a faulty hub, by shutting down the corresponding output on the UPS and then powering it up again;

• Multi-vendor networks, with built-in shutdown capability, can be administrated centrally;

• Multiple, and even multi-vendor, servers can all be protected by a single UPS;

• There is no form of inter-dependency between different servers protected by the same UPS. All these functions may be accessed from any NMS platform on the market, using the standard IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) version of the MIB (Management Information Base) or a compiled version of the MIB, as used by the UPS agent.

Interoperability

The MIB (Management Information Base) defines the available data object variables. In June 1992 the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) asked a group of UPS manufacturers to define a standard MIB in order to ensure UPS interoperability and permit UPS integration in network administration systems available on the market. The working group was headed by Adam Stolinski, Technological Marketing Director at MGE UPS SYSTEMS. The MIB was published by the IETF in May 1994, under the reference RFC 1628.