c I recently performed an inventory of UPS battery-backups in my house. We have five desktop (tower) systems and a readily-accessible laptop on an Ethernet-with-wireless LAN. There is at least one KVM switch (3 PCs), three gigabit switches, and a CISCO cable router with gigabit switch.
There is an APC UPS powering each of the five computers, plus a small-wattage spare for extra peripherals. I even have a spare UPS powering the essentials of my AVR/HDTV "Home Theater" rig (and wonder if I can also control it to shut it down within a time-frame -- but read on . . )
I recently acquired an APC Smart-UPS C 1500VA "tower" [versus "rackmount"] unit capable of 1500VA or 900W. A high-power workstation and home-server (5 HDDs) draw less than 450W at any time, and mostly consume on average ~300W. This unit (APC 1500 "C") has 8 battery-supported outlets, and comes with the Power-Chute Business Edition software of {console, agent, and server} components. I have installed the server and agent components on my WHS server.
APC suggests that one must purchase a separate piece of equipment (an "expander" and something else) to control more than one "Agent" (and PC) at the same time. The APC software seems able to control every PC that is connected to a UPS unit by using the "console" software, but it can only control one at a time with multiple PCs on a single unit without the extra device(s).
I have used AXONET "LIGHTS OFF" with my server over two or three years. I uninstalled it in January while rebuilding the server, but I can install it again any time, and the license is good.
SINCE I WAS ABLE TO MAKE MY SERVER GO TO SLEEP IF MY MAIN WORKSTATION WAS EITHER ASLEEP OR POWERED DOWN, I THINK I SHOULD BE ABLE TO CONFIGURE LIGHTS-OUT SO THAT I CAN EITHER SLEEP, HIBERNATE OR SHUT-DOWN ONE SYSTEM IF THE OTHER SYSTEM IS POWERED DOWN OR ASLEEP, AND -- GIVEN THE NATURE OF THE LIGHTS-OFF SOFTWARE WITH ITS "CLIENT FRONT-END" -- I SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO THIS FOR THE SERVER AND TWO OR MORE WORKSTATIONS CONNECTED TO THE SAME UPS.
ISN'T THIS POSSIBLE? IF IT IS POSSIBLE, CAN I CONFIGURE THE TIME INTERVAL BETWEEN "ON BATTERY" OR BEGINNING WITH ONE SYSTEM'S SHUT-DOWN AND THE LAST SYSTEM'S SLEEP/HIBERNATION/SHUT-DOWN -- TO MINIMIZE THE DRAW ON THE BATTERY?