UPS monitoring with PRTG

If the APC system does not support SNMP, you can also use the custom EXE/Script Advanced sensor to read out the most important values of the UPS using PowerShell. Find out more in our Knowledge Base article.

For more advanced monitoring, there are several custom sensors written by PRTG users that provide additional data such as a necessary battery replacement or the reason for the last failure. Discover some of these scripts in our PRTG Sensor Hub.

A PDU stands for “power distribution unit”. PDUs take power from a primary source (such as a UPS or mains power) and distribute it to multiple devices or pieces of equipment within a data center, server room, or other industrial settings. PDUs are typically mounted within equipment racks and provide electrical outlets or connections for servers, networking equipment, storage devices, and other hardware.

UPS monitoring refers to the process of actively monitoring and managing uninterruptible power supply systems to ensure their proper functioning and reliability. This involves continuously monitoring various parameters and metrics related to the UPS units to detect potential issues, prevent downtime, and maintain optimal performance.

Key aspects of UPS monitoring typically include:

• Monitoring the input power source and the UPS output to ensure that the UPS is providing consistent and clean power to connected equipment.
• Monitoring the status and health of the UPS batteries, including their charge level, temperature, and overall condition. This is crucial because batteries degrade over time and need to be replaced periodically to maintain UPS effectiveness.
• Tracking the power consumption and load levels on the UPS to ensure that it is not overloaded, which could lead to system instability or downtime.
• Detecting and alerting administrators to any faults or abnormalities within the UPS system, such as component failures, overheating, or voltage fluctuations.

In PRTG, “sensors” are the basic monitoring elements. One sensor usually monitors one measured value in your network, for example the traffic of a switch port, the CPU load of a server, or the free space on a disk drive.

On average, you need about 5-10 sensors per device or one sensor per switch port.