Privacy Preferences

Last updated August 10, 2022

This Cookie Policy explains how Sentry Software S.A.S. uses cookies and similar technologies to recognize you when you visit our Web site. It explains what these technologies are and why we use them, as well as your rights to control our use of them.

  • Google Analytics
    These cookies collect information to help us understand how our Web site is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are.
Save Preferences Privacy Policy

Use Cases

Monitoring UPS Batteries

  • 2 min read
Hardware SNMP

Overview

Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) are essential for protecting sensitive electronic equipment from power interruptions. Ensuring UPS battery health is critical for business continuity, data integrity, and equipment longevity.

With MetricsHub®, organizations can proactively monitor UPS batteries, preventing downtime, reducing maintenance costs, and improving safety.

Why UPS Battery Monitoring Matters

Effective UPS battery monitoring helps:

  • Prevent Downtime: Detect battery failures early to avoid unexpected power loss.
  • Extend Battery Life: Monitor charge levels and temperature to optimize lifespan.
  • Ensure System Performance: Keep UPS batteries in optimal condition for reliable power delivery.
  • Reduce Costs: Early issue detection prevents emergency repairs and unplanned replacements.
  • Improve Compliance & Safety: Align with industry standards for power infrastructure reliability.

Common UPS Battery Issues Detected by MetricsHub

With MetricsHub, you can monitor and address common UPS battery issues that may lead to data loss and corruption, or impact business continuity. The table below outlines frequent challenges and the corresponding metrics that help diagnose and resolve them:

Issue Description Metrics
Battery Health Degradation The UPS battery is aging, losing capacity, or nearing replacement, reducing backup efficiency. hw.status{hw.type="battery"}
Power Supply & Charging Issues The UPS battery is not charging properly, frequently switching to battery mode, or receiving unstable input voltage. hw.power_supply.utilization, hw.battery.charge, hw.voltage
Thermal & Overload Risks Overheating, overcharging, or excessive load may lead to reduced battery lifespan or failure. hw.temperature
Power Limitations The UPS battery runtime is insufficient to keep systems running during power outages. hw.battery.time_left

Configuring MetricsHub for UPS battery monitoring

MetricsHub leverages the APC UPS connector to monitor UPS batteries.

Important: The APC UPS connector only supports remote hosts. Ensure your UPS is accessible via SNMP.

To monitor UPS batteries:

  1. In the config/metricshub.yaml file, we define the UPS system as a remote system with the following attributes:

    resources:
  ups-host:
    attributes:
      host.name: host-01
      host.type: management

  2. We configure MetricsHub to connect to the host using the SNMP v2c protocol and the public community

        protocols:
      snmp:
        version: v2c
        community: public

Here is the complete YAML configuration to be added to config/metricshub.yaml:

resources:
  ups-host:
    attributes:
      host.name: host-01
      host.type: management
    protocols:
      snmp:
        version: v2c
        community: public

Finally we configure the Prometheus integration to visualize the UPS battery metrics.

After completing the configuration, we restart MetricsHub, check the MetricsHub logs and Prometheus to confirm that the battery metrics are being collected and exported successfully.

Hardware SNMP