June 11, 2009

Modular UPS units from APC


As I returned from a nice long vacation sailing in BVI (its great to have friends that are doctors), I found several APC modular UPS systems waiting for me.

The SUM3000RMXL2U units have two trays inside them for batteries and power management. Ideally, you can replace the power module as easily as batteries.

Is this feature necessary?

So I started googling... and a few people mentioned the ability to replace the module would prevent having to disconnect all the cables, network managers, etc if the unit fails. Having personally gone through the hassle of a new deployment of UPSes every week in our service business, maybe it is worth it.



But then the let down... APC replacement power modules are only available from APC. One guy lamented that they were at 1 point 2 months in backorder... yikes.

Anyway, for most people, I still wouldnt recommend the SUM..2U. The SU3000RMXL3U is cheaper and has longer battery life, but the SUM is on sale for those that demand it.