APC Smart-UPS RM 2200VA USB (SUA2200RM2U) UPS System
- Output Power (VA): 2200 VA
- Max Backup Time With Full Load: 5.2 Minutes
- Output Power (W): 1980 W
- Form Factor: Rack-Mountable
- Platform: PC, Unix, Sun
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A good line-interactive uninterruptible supply
Pros
Quite efficient, protects your equipment effectively against power-surge damage
Cons
Brief glitches when switching to battery power; some long-term reliability issues
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
A competent general purpose UPS that protects the equipment very well. Not the best choice for sensitive loads or generator power.
The APC Smart-UPS family is a series of line-interactive devices that protect your equipment against damage from power-line spikes and surges, and power the gear during power outages -- at least, long enough for you to save your work and power down the equipment in an orderly way. The SUA2200RM2U is a rack-mount model capable of supplying 2,200VA (or 1,980 watts) of power.
We have about two dozen of this particular model UPS in our regional broadcast facility, in addition to other variations in the Smart-UPS family.
Line interactive, or true on-line?
A line interactive UPS like the Smart-UPS series powers the load from the incoming utility power when it is available (and within tolerance), passing it through special filtering to correct for minor voltage discrepancies and to trap spikes and surges. When utility power fails, an internal relay switches the load to an inverter which creates AC power from internal batteries. A good line interactive UPS is quite efficient, because most of the time the only "overhead" is the small amount of power needed to keep the batteries charged.
A true on-line UPS (the Liebert GXT2 series, for example) always powers the load from its inverter rather than from the utility power; incoming power is used merely to charge the batteries and feed the inverter. This provides complete isolation between the utility power and your load, and allows for much greater variations in incoming voltage or frequency... but it's not as efficient since there is a certain amount of energy lost in converting from AC to DC, and back again.
In general, most computer systems will be happy with either system. If your application is more critical, or if your power is likely to have significant voltage or frequency swings (for instance, if you have a standby generator) a true on-line system would be best. On the other hand, most ordinary loads will work just fine on a line-interactive UPS... and the electrical costs will be slightly lower.
Installation
First off, this is a heavy unit: 96 pounds installed, 125 pounds to ship. You really need two people to handle this safely. The UPS comes with a pair of rack slides designed to attach between front and rear rails in your rack. Appropriate hardware is supplied to attach the slides to either box-nut or tapped rack rails. Watch your hands: the slides have sharp edges. Once the slides are in place, the UPS will slide in place easily enough. Be particularly careful of the front controls: they are rather easily snapped off, especially if the UPS slips and grazes your toe. (I did mention that you should have two people to install this, right...?)
The UPS needs to connect to a 20-amp "T" slot outlet, and comes with an eight-foot cord. On the output side, there are two sets of three 15-amp outlets, each set with a separate circuit breaker, and two 20-amp "T" slot outlets, on a third breaker. Before plugging the UPS into the outlet, you need to plug the battery pack into its socket -- don't be surprised when it draws a bit of an arc. Similarly, be prepared for a rather loud "thud" that sometimes happens when you plug the UPS into the wall outlet.
If you want to connect the UPS to a computer, there are three possibilities: the UPS comes with both a USB and an RS232 cable, plus appropriate software to use either. There's also a slot for an optional ethernet interface that will let you connect to multiple computers over a network. In all cases, this allows you to specially configure the UPS, to receive alerts when there is a problem, and to initiate an orderly computer shutdown before the battery runs down.
Operation
The front panel is quite intuitive: two buttons to turn the UPS on and off and to start a self-test; a bar meter to show how much load is connected; and a bar meter to show the amount of battery charge. There are also lights to indicate when the unit is correcting over- or under-voltage, when the unit is powered on, when the battery is powering the load, and an alarm light.
Most of the time, the Smart-UPS will just sit there... but if there's a glitch in the utility power, it will let you know with a rather loud chirp. A sufficiently serious glitch will make the UPS switch over to battery power briefly, with attendant clicking and buzzing. You might not want to install this in a bedroom (but then, not very many bedrooms probably have equipment racks).
During a power failure, expect a fairly pronounced buzzing noise and a periodic "beep beep beep" to let you know that power has been lost. You will also typically see a brief glitch on your video monitor when the UPS switches to internal power, and then back to utility power.
Maintenance
The Smart-UPS family requires little maintenance beyond keeping it clean and replacing batteries every 3-5 years. The unit performs an automatic self-test periodically, and will sound an alarm when the batteries need replacement. This is a job that can be done with the UPS powering the load... usually. My experience with rack-mount Smart-UPS models (including this one) is that all too often, old batteries will bulge to the point where they will not slide out of the UPS without considerable prying and, sometimes, damage to the UPS chassis. Replacing the batteries requires care, as you will be handling the battery packs directly, with exposed DC wiring: not a shock hazard, but you need to be careful to not snag wires (or your hands) on the sharp sheet metal edges around the battery door.
Reliability
One troubling pattern that has surfaced with a few of our Smart-UPS units (including one of this model) is that the self-test does not always detect battery problems. This comes to light when there's a utility power glitch or failure, and the UPS just shuts down without warning. As a consequence, I now replace batteries after five years even if there is no alarm.
So far as protecting the connected load equipment goes, we have had excellent results: although we had a lightning strike destroy several Smart-UPS units several years ago, we have never had damage to any protected equipment.
Summary
The Smart-UPS family in general, and the SUA2200RM2U in particular, is a highly efficient unit with very effective protection against surges and spikes. Most computer equipment will not have a problem with the switching glitch between utility power and the internal backup power that is generic to this kind of UPS. If your system cannot handle this sort of switching, or if you anticipate running the UPS from generator power, you should look instead at an on-line UPS such as the Liebert GXT2 series.
We have about two dozen of this particular model UPS in our regional broadcast facility, in addition to other variations in the Smart-UPS family.
Line interactive, or true on-line?
A line interactive UPS like the Smart-UPS series powers the load from the incoming utility power when it is available (and within tolerance), passing it through special filtering to correct for minor voltage discrepancies and to trap spikes and surges. When utility power fails, an internal relay switches the load to an inverter which creates AC power from internal batteries. A good line interactive UPS is quite efficient, because most of the time the only "overhead" is the small amount of power needed to keep the batteries charged.
A true on-line UPS (the Liebert GXT2 series, for example) always powers the load from its inverter rather than from the utility power; incoming power is used merely to charge the batteries and feed the inverter. This provides complete isolation between the utility power and your load, and allows for much greater variations in incoming voltage or frequency... but it's not as efficient since there is a certain amount of energy lost in converting from AC to DC, and back again.
In general, most computer systems will be happy with either system. If your application is more critical, or if your power is likely to have significant voltage or frequency swings (for instance, if you have a standby generator) a true on-line system would be best. On the other hand, most ordinary loads will work just fine on a line-interactive UPS... and the electrical costs will be slightly lower.
Installation
First off, this is a heavy unit: 96 pounds installed, 125 pounds to ship. You really need two people to handle this safely. The UPS comes with a pair of rack slides designed to attach between front and rear rails in your rack. Appropriate hardware is supplied to attach the slides to either box-nut or tapped rack rails. Watch your hands: the slides have sharp edges. Once the slides are in place, the UPS will slide in place easily enough. Be particularly careful of the front controls: they are rather easily snapped off, especially if the UPS slips and grazes your toe. (I did mention that you should have two people to install this, right...?)
The UPS needs to connect to a 20-amp "T" slot outlet, and comes with an eight-foot cord. On the output side, there are two sets of three 15-amp outlets, each set with a separate circuit breaker, and two 20-amp "T" slot outlets, on a third breaker. Before plugging the UPS into the outlet, you need to plug the battery pack into its socket -- don't be surprised when it draws a bit of an arc. Similarly, be prepared for a rather loud "thud" that sometimes happens when you plug the UPS into the wall outlet.
If you want to connect the UPS to a computer, there are three possibilities: the UPS comes with both a USB and an RS232 cable, plus appropriate software to use either. There's also a slot for an optional ethernet interface that will let you connect to multiple computers over a network. In all cases, this allows you to specially configure the UPS, to receive alerts when there is a problem, and to initiate an orderly computer shutdown before the battery runs down.
Operation
The front panel is quite intuitive: two buttons to turn the UPS on and off and to start a self-test; a bar meter to show how much load is connected; and a bar meter to show the amount of battery charge. There are also lights to indicate when the unit is correcting over- or under-voltage, when the unit is powered on, when the battery is powering the load, and an alarm light.
Most of the time, the Smart-UPS will just sit there... but if there's a glitch in the utility power, it will let you know with a rather loud chirp. A sufficiently serious glitch will make the UPS switch over to battery power briefly, with attendant clicking and buzzing. You might not want to install this in a bedroom (but then, not very many bedrooms probably have equipment racks).
During a power failure, expect a fairly pronounced buzzing noise and a periodic "beep beep beep" to let you know that power has been lost. You will also typically see a brief glitch on your video monitor when the UPS switches to internal power, and then back to utility power.
Maintenance
The Smart-UPS family requires little maintenance beyond keeping it clean and replacing batteries every 3-5 years. The unit performs an automatic self-test periodically, and will sound an alarm when the batteries need replacement. This is a job that can be done with the UPS powering the load... usually. My experience with rack-mount Smart-UPS models (including this one) is that all too often, old batteries will bulge to the point where they will not slide out of the UPS without considerable prying and, sometimes, damage to the UPS chassis. Replacing the batteries requires care, as you will be handling the battery packs directly, with exposed DC wiring: not a shock hazard, but you need to be careful to not snag wires (or your hands) on the sharp sheet metal edges around the battery door.
Reliability
One troubling pattern that has surfaced with a few of our Smart-UPS units (including one of this model) is that the self-test does not always detect battery problems. This comes to light when there's a utility power glitch or failure, and the UPS just shuts down without warning. As a consequence, I now replace batteries after five years even if there is no alarm.
So far as protecting the connected load equipment goes, we have had excellent results: although we had a lightning strike destroy several Smart-UPS units several years ago, we have never had damage to any protected equipment.
Summary
The Smart-UPS family in general, and the SUA2200RM2U in particular, is a highly efficient unit with very effective protection against surges and spikes. Most computer equipment will not have a problem with the switching glitch between utility power and the internal backup power that is generic to this kind of UPS. If your system cannot handle this sort of switching, or if you anticipate running the UPS from generator power, you should look instead at an on-line UPS such as the Liebert GXT2 series.
