Never-Ending Power Supply

Offering a scalable, modular design and numerous configuration options, APC's redundant UPS hits the market.

Michelle Campanale

Hell hath no fury like a network administrator after a power outage. Fortunately, a UPS that offers both scalability and N+1 redundancy has arrived. The Symmetra Power Array , which represents American Power Conversion's first UPS over 5 kVA, operates much like a server or storage device with RAID. Using double-conversion on-line technology, all the modules in the Power Array run in parallel and share the load evenly.

With a full output of 16 kVA, when all power and battery bays are fully loaded, the Symmetra can effectively power 32 NT servers. The unit's copious expansion options, or "smart slots," enable augmentation or reconfigurat ion simply by adding or removing modules. Additionally, APC offers a number of choices for managing the system.

The Symmetra contains hot-swappable parts: power modules, battery modules, a main intelligence module, and a redundant intelligence module. Many users will appreciate the Symmetra's four back panels --smart slots that offer a selection of added management connections. The system supports an Ethernet ($199)or a Token Ring ($399) SNMP module, allowing any networked PC, with permission, to connect to the UPS through the file server. A $179 out-of- band or in-band modem module is also supported. The out-of-band UPS call-up card is capable of paging the administrator when the unit experiences problems, and it provides terminal emulation for dial-in management of the unit.

The tiny hard-wired LCD console module o n the front of the unit can be used to manage the system. It displays menus for diagnostics, system status, and configuration. The Symmetra ships with APC's PowerChute Plus 5.0, a Web-enabled utility designed to shut down the OS and close all files prior to a UPS power failure. Additionally, the unit comes with HP OpenView. APC plans to soon release an add-on card that lets you assign an IP address directly to the Symmetra, bypassing the server.

The Symmetra product line includes five models that scale from 8 kVA to 16 kVA, with redundancy starting at 4 kVA. Prices range from $10,500 to $16,600.

Similarly priced products like Liebert's UPStation S ($4000 to $15,000) can have a certain level of redundancy, analogous to disk mirroring, where a UPS is backed up by an equivalent UPS. Of course, the price doubles and there is no load balancing. By using small modules that are hot-swappable, APC's Symmetra eliminates a single point of failure and promotes quick, do-it-yourself servicing. These features, combined with the Symmetra's multiple configuration and management options, constitute a compelling UPS solution at a competitive price.

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Where to Find

Symmetra Power Array......................$10,500 to $16,600 

American Power Conversion 
West Kingston, RI 
Phone:    800-800-4272
Phone:    401-789-5735 
Internet: 
http://www.apcc.com
 
Enter 993 on Inquiry Card

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Ratings

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Implementation	*	*	*	*
Key: ***** Outstanding, **** Very Good, *** Good, ** Fair, * Poor

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Easy On, Easy Off

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You can easily install or remove the Symmetra's individual power, intelligence, and battery modules to manage redundancy.

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Connectable Backside

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The backside has four slots for management connections.

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Michelle Campanale is a BYTE technical editor based in the San Mateo, California, bureau. You can reach her at michelle@dev5.byte.com .