User manual

US 8,510,424 B2
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up, the router’s power cannot be individually cycled on and
off externally at the UPS because it is connected to a multiple
power outlet. The recovery action choices available to the
network control center operator thus do not include being able
to reinitialize the individual equipment through a power inter
ruption reset. The network operator could command the UPS
to power cycle, but that would reset all the other attached
devices that were ostensibly operating normally and carrying
other network traf?c. Another option is to dispatch someone
to the remote location to reset the locked-up device. Neither
choice is an attractive solution.
In large organizations that have come to depend heavily on
enterprise networks, there is great pressure to develop ways to
control costs and thus to improve pro?ts. Organizational
down-sizing has been used throughout the corporate world to
reduce non-network costs, and that usually translates to fewer
technical people available in the right places to support large
and complex in-house global networks. Such reduced repair
staffs now rely on a combination of centralized network man
agement tools and third-party maintenance organizations to
service their remote POP sites. The costs associated with
dispatching third-party maintenance technicians is very high,
and the dispatch and travel delay times can humble the busi
ness operations over a wide area for what seems an eternity.
Global communication network operators, located at a few
centralized network management centers, are relying more
and more on automated network management applications to
analyze, process, display and support their networks. An
increasing number of network management software appli
cations are being marketed that use open- system standardized
protocols. Particular network application tool software is pos
sible to report lists of the network appliances, by location, and
can issue trouble lists and keep track of software versions and
releases. Simple network management protocol (SNMP)
applications are conventionally used to issue alarms to central
management consoles when remote network appliances fail.
SNMP is conventionally used to send messages between
management client nodes and agent nodes. Management
informationblocks (MIBs) are used for statistic counters, port
status, and other information about routers and other network
devices. GET and SET commands are issued from manage
ment consoles and operate on particular MIB variables for the
equipment nodes. Such commands allow network manage
ment functions to be carried out between client equipment
nodes and management agent nodes. The agent nodes can
issue alert or TRAP messages to the management center to
report special events.
SNMP is an application protocol for network management
services in the internet protocol suite. SNMP has been
adopted by numerous network equipment vendors as their
main or secondary management interface. SNMP de?nes a
client/ server relationship, wherein the client program, a “net
work manager”, makes virtual connections to a server pro
gram, an “SNMP agent”, on a remote network device. The
data base controlled by the SNMP agent is the SNMP man
agement information base, and is a standard set of statistical
and control values. SNMP and private MIBs allow the exten
sion of standard values with values speci?c to a particular
agent. Directives issued by the network manager client to an
SNMP agent comprise SNMP variable identi?ers, e.g., MIB
object identi?ers or MIB variables, and instructions to either
GET the value for the identi?er, or SET the identi?er to a new
value. Thus private MIB variables allow SNMP agents to be
customized for speci?c devices, e.g., network bridges, gate
ways, and routers. The de?nitions of MIB variables being
supported by particular agents are located in descriptor ?les,
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typically written in abstract syntax notation (ASN.1) format.
The de?nitions are available to network management client
programs.
SNMP-based network management systems (N MS) can be
implemented with Compaq INSIGHT MANAGER, Novell
NETWARE, Hewlett-Packard OPENVIEW, Castlerock
SNMPC, Banyan VINES, Artisoft LANTASTIC, Microsoft
WINDOWS, SunNet MANGER, IBM AS/400, etc. Speci?c
control of an agent is traditionally afforded by hardware
manufacturers by supplying MIB extensions to the standard
ized SNMP MIB library by way of source-text ?les on ?oppy
disks or compact disks (CD’ s). These MIB extensions load on
the NMS, and an assigned IP-address for the agent is entered
in by a user at the NMS. Connecting the agent and the NMS
to a properly con?gured network is usually enough to estab
lish communications and control.
In 1994, American Power Conversion (West Kingston,
RI.) marketed a combination of their SMART-UPS, POW
ERNET SNMP ADAPTER, MEASURE-UPS, and an
SNMP-based management station. POWERNET SNMP
agents were used to generate traps or alarms for attention by
the management station. The SNMP agents were described as
being able to supply real-time UPS status and power-quality
information, e. g., UPS run-time, utility-line voltage, and UPS
current load.
In 1996, American Power Conversion was marketing their
MASTERSWITCH embodiment that comprises a single
rack-mountable box with eight relay-controlled power outlets
on the back apron. A built-in 10 Base-T networking plug
allows connection to a LAN. It further includes an embedded
SNMP agent responsive to the networking plug that can con
trol individual power outlets. A Telnet agent was also
included. Revisions of the MASTERSWITCH that appeared
by 2000 further included a hypertext transfer protocol
(HTTP) agent that can generate information and control
webpages on a logged-in web browser. SNMP traps were
relied on to generate unsolicited alarm inputs. Automatic
IP-address assignment is provided by a Bootup process.
By at least 1998, American Power Conversion began mar
keting a “complete enterprise power management system”. A
POWERNET manager controls SMART-UPS devices over a
network using SNMP. An SNMP agent is associated with
each controlled SMART-UPS and a graphical user interface
(GUI) on the manager allows a user to see the power status of
each SMART-UPS. Shutdowns and reboots of individual
SMART-UPS sites are initiated from the GUI. The POWER
NET EVENT ADAPTER converts SNMP traps into events
that are reported in a GUI, e.g., the TIVOLI ENTERPRISE
CONSOLE (TEC). In 1998, voltage, current, temperature,
and relative humidity were being reported, e.g., by MEA
SURE-UPS, and displayed in the POWERNET MANAGER
GUI.
All such patents and patent applications mentioned herein
are incorporated by reference.
SUMMARY
Brie?y, a power manager embodiment of the present may
comprise a network comprising a power manager with a
network agent in communication over a network with a net
work manager. The power manager can be connected to con
trol several intelligent power modules each able to indepen
dently control the power on/ off status of several network
appliances. Power-on and load sensors within each intelligent
power module can report the power status of each network
appliance to the network manager with variables in response
to commands. Each intelligent power module can be