Network Management Card Connection

Network Management Card 2 firmware v6.8.0 and higher, and Network Management Card 3 firmware v1.1.0.16 and higher uses the HTTPS protocol by default. The default protocol for PowerChute is HTTPS which can be changed to HTTP, although it is not recommended.

The default port is 80 for HTTP, and 443 for HTTPS. Do not change this number unless you changed the port being used by your NMC.

The NMC uses a self-signed SSL certificate by default when HTTPS is enabled. You need to enable "Accept Untrusted SSL Certificates" to allow PowerChute to establish communication with the NMC if a self-signed certificate is being used by the NMC.

For Redundant and Parallel configurations, you need to enter more than one IP address to enable communications with all the relevant NMCs.

For more information on UPS configurations and supported UPS models, view the Application Note "PowerChute Network Shutdown Operating Modes and supported UPS Configurations" here.

Add each IP address using the + Add IP Address button. Enter the IP address of the NMC in the UPS. Click OK.

To edit an IP address, click the icon. To delete an IP address, click the icon.

Adding a Trusted Certificate to PowerChute for NMC communication

When using the HTTPS protocol to communicate with the NMC, you must select the Accept Untrusted SSL Certificates check box. However, it is possible to create a Trusted Certificate file and add it to the PowerChute truststore.

Your NMC Security Handbook has details on the Security Wizard used to create the Trusted Certificate file with an extension .CRT. This file is then used to create components that can be uploaded to the NMC to replace the default self-signed certificate.

In order to facilitate the trusted SSL communication of PowerChute with the NMC, this Trusted Certificate file must then be added to the system Java cacerts keystore or to the PowerChutekeystore file. (You can do this using the Java keytool.exe; for details see the Java help documentation). Adding it to the cacerts keystore means it is available to all your applications as distinct from just PowerChute.

By default the PowerChute-keystore file is located in APC\PowerChute\group1. If you add the Trusted Certificate and you subsequently get a connection error with the NMC, then it could be because a) the certificate has expired, b) it is not yet valid, or c) it has been revoked. In any of these cases, you need to add a new Trusted Certificate to the PowerChute server or to upload a new valid SSL certificate to the NMC.

For more information, see the PowerChute Network Shutdown Security Handbook.

The PowerChute-keystore file only exists after the first attempt is made to communicate with the NMC using HTTPS (by using the configuration wizard for example). For this reason, for a silent installation you must add the Trusted Certificate to the Java cacerts keystore.

PowerChute only checks the keystore when its service starts. After you add the Trusted Certificate, you will need to re-start the PowerChute service if it’s already running.

NMC PowerChute Support

In NMC 2 firmware v6.8.0 and higher and NMC 3 firmware v1.1.0.16 and higher, PowerChute support is disabled by default. This may result in an error while PowerChute registers with the NMC(s). If an error is displayed, log in to the NMC UI and ensure PowerChute support is enabled.

In the NMC Web UI, you must specify a user name and authentication phrase before PowerChute can be enabled. You must also choose the protocol used to communicate with PowerChute (HTTP/HTTPS). NOTE: The chosen protocol must be enabled on the NMC before PowerChute communications can be established. For more information, refer to the NMC User Guide available on the APC website.