2) RS-232 is the standard for serial ports. DB-9 and DB-25 are the
commonly available connectors.
1) Most UPS with this capability come with software on floppy or
CD-ROM. It is almost always Windows or Mac only. There are several
UPS software packages included with SuSE. APC does have a Linux
package that can be downloaded.
3) Don't trust the reliability of your system to cheap hardware. I
may buy cheap gas or even headlights for my car; the seatbelts and
brakes I want to be ultra-reliable.
Look carefully at the specs. I was puzzled by APC's BackUPS and
BackUPS-Pro lines, the Pro being more expensive. The difference is
the BackUPS is the dumb line. The Pro line is the smart controller,
it can tell the computer how much power is left in the batteries,
signal when they are 30% recharged, handle power back on after
shutdown sequence initiated, etc. For a system that must run reliably
unattended and come back up on its own, this is much better. The dumb
series is only suitable for where a person is available to power back up.
4) I have a APC BackUPS 650. It kept my Dell Dimension 450MHz
PIII and 17" CRT up for 40 minutes. I now have a Athlon XP 1800 and a
17" LCD monitor. I expect the same up time. I am using the software
downloaded from APC.
I wish I had bought the Pro model. I need this system to be able to
restart itself unattended. I travel for weeks at a time and need the
system to stay up in my absence.
HTH,
Jeffrey
Quoting Praise
Hi all,
I have no experience with UPS, so here my questions are.
1) What kind of software should I use with the UPS? I want the PC to log when a power failure happen, and to turn off when the failure lasts too much. That software must work with serial port, as I do not have USB ports.
2) What is RS-232 connector? Is it common serial port?
3) How much sellers lie? I mean, I have seen some low cost UPS and sometimes they can resist longer than high cost UPS. I know that half load of a low cost one is much less than half load of a high cost one, but I do not find that information very trustful. So, guys and girls, how much does your UPS last?
4) What UPS do you have, and how is your life with it?
Praise