Device Allows Remote Reboot, Load Shedding

Multiple, independently controlled power outlets simplify many network management tasks.

by Ted Stevenson ISP-Planet Managing Editor [November 3, 1999]

The MasterSwitch from American Power Conversion (APC) is a power control device that's long since earned a place in the hardware arsenal of web hosting providers and ISPs with co-location customers. Its new sibling, MasterSwitch plus (due to be announced in mid-November) augments the capabilities of the existing product with a shared interface to the company's UPSs to provide configurable UPS-aware power management capability.

Each of the eight power outlets on a standard MasterSwitch can be independently and remotely switched, thus easing the burden—and reducing the cost—of managing remote sites. For example, when a server or other piece of equipment attached to the MasterSwitch hangs, it can simply be rebooted from a remote location without effecting other attached equipment, eliminating a site visit by a field technician.

The MasterSwitch has a browser-based graphical interface that incorporates HTTP 1.0 password security. It offers both a built-in Ethernet interface for LAN connectivity and a serial port for offline configuration and diagnostics via modem and telnet session.

The plus in plus
The backup power interface incorporated into the new plus model adds important new functionality: Each server attached to the MasterSwitch plus can receive status information from a connected UPS (using either UPS monitoring capabilities built into the server itself or APC's PowerChute plus software). When a 'battery on' condition is detected, the plus communicates with each device, in a fully user-configurable sequence, gracefully shutting down the OS. In this way, it can shed nonessential loads in order to extend UPS run time for the most critical equipment. A 'graceful reboot' mode restarts each server automatically once power has been restored.

With the help of an optional SNMP Management Card, the MasterSwitch plus can provide fully automated control based on SNMP traps. Another option, the Environmental Monitoring Card, allows automated notification when temperature and/or humidity levels exceed predetermined thresholds. In "annunciator" mode, this can trigger devices such as exhaust fans or alarms.

As many as four MasterSwitch pluses can be daisy-chained together, to provide up to 32 manageable outlets and servers on a single UPS.

The new model also beefs up security with MD5 authentication technology, which hashes login IDs and passwords as an added layer of protection for the Web-accessible device.

The base price of the MasterSwitch plus is $999.

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