APCs response to competitive claims:
Contents
1. CAN technology actually increases overall system MTBF because of the increased reliability of the communications The Powerware 9170 is designed as a highly engineered scalable modular flexible UPS that combines the highest level of reliability with the lowest cost of ownership in the 3 18 kVA range Reviewing the examples sited 1 COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL Every power module has its own internal bypass that is rated at 6KVA twice the power module rating and will support the critical load in the event of a failure with a minimum of two power modules used in the system The Powerware 9170s charger will sufficiently keep the batteries charged and recharge them after a discharge We will be releasing an optional 20amp hot swappable charger in April May that can be inserted into any available slot of the UPS chassis or a new 12 slot extended battery cabinet which will support up to three chargers 60amps for additional charging needs The Powerware 9170 has passed all applicable safety agency and shipping tests Because the power and battery modules are so much lighter than the APC modules we are able to reduce chassis cost because we don t have to support the same amount of weight The simplicity of the Powerware 9170 is evident here because you can order pre configured solutions or add value to your customer by custom configuring the solution they need In addition we now offer bundled part numbers for complete Powerware 91702. bus in Invensys responded APC is very good at pulling you off point At issue here is the fact the Powerware 9170 is inherently more reliable because of its design features The Powerware 9170 utilizes Industry leading Control Area Network CAN communication which is the norm in the automotive and other large manufacturing industries We have also designed redundancy into the power and logic controls of each power module APC claims we decrease reliability by housing all components in the power module Actually this design philosophy virtually eliminates any single point of failure because by simply increasing the number of power modules in an enclosure we can achieve N 1 N 2 up to N X redundancy o With APC s two redundant intelligence cards they can only offer N 1 power and logic redundancy Each power module has its own internal bypass so if a power module should fail it has it s own internal bypass rated at 2X the module rating 6k VA It is very easy to size an enclosure to allow for additional modules for either N X redundancy or additional runtime utilizing our configurator It is very easy to add extended battery cabinets for additional runtimes The combination of all of these features makes the Powerware 9170 significantly more reliable than the Symmetra User serviceability is a key selling point of the PW9170 and numerous design features were incorporated to achieve this First and foremost the power and battery mod
3. internal isolation step down transformer installed in the chassis The Powerware 9170 is a configurable UPS and can be ordered to meet any customer requirements In addition we have recently released new complete Powerware 9170 UPS systems with bundled part numbers to satisfy those who require pre configured systems The Powerware 9170 s design is optimized on 4 enclosures 2 power modules and battery module for all global requirements This design yields 3 18K VA N X redundancy and tower rackmounting capabilities No special rackmounting enclosures and modules are required This also leads to reduced inventories SKUs and lower prices to the customer The Powerware 9170 utilizes Control Area Network CAN communications The automotive industry migrated from IIC to CAN years ago due to its superior reliability and fault tolerance in hostile environments It is incorrect to state that a faulted node on the CAN bus will take the UPS system down Failure of the active circuitry in the frame during Page 3 the frame creating a single point of failure and allowing cascading failure of power modules Invensys has engineered a modular UPS system with some revolutionary new technology cutting a lot of the cost out of modular design This enables Invensys to give customers redundant power protection for the price of non redundant March 26 2001 Symmetra in the form of traces contained within circuit boards These
4. to support the modules The battery modules actually bend the shelves to the point where after some time they can be pulled from the System completely bypassing the safety stops that prevent user injury Finally Invensys has left it up to the customer to choose the correct components to build a complete high availability system The Powerware 9170 has no external bypass built in and it is recommended that an external maintenance bypass be purchased It also does not have galvanic isolation built in it also must be purchased separately There is no intelligence in the extended run cabinets so a customer will be forced to purchase preventative maintenance it is recommended on page 23 of the user manual to do this every 6 months All these extras will cost the customer as much as 8000 over the initial system cost It is important to note that when APC designed the Symmetra Power Array there was no other N 1 Modular power protection system on the market APC had to deliver a product that met customer expectations and was not influenced by other product on the market Invensys has done some things that make it easy to market against the Symmetra but when examined actually can sacrifice system reliability This is a result of having to deliver a system operation will not jeopardize the customer s critical load Like the Symmetra if the Powerware 9170 has a failure in the power module the power module disconnects itself from the bus Use of
5. user which power module requires replacement The module can then be quickly swapped with a replacement module No complex swapping of slots is required as APC claims This has nothing to do with serviceability but we chose this method because we did not want to expose the end user to the 120Vdc which is present in a hot installed connection method If a customer does need to add additional extended battery runtimes after the initial installation it probably means that conditions have changed And typically will want to schedule this during a downtime It will take a qualified person to add the additional cabinet but servicing the system after installation is just as simple as ever Again the claim is completely invalid The number of active power and battery modules is shown on the top of the screen and is updated when a module is added or removed All other critical information alarms etc will be displayed when a problem arises The configuration screen contains all the basic set up information and is accessible at any time from the idle screen Any more advanced configuration and diagnostic information of any UPS would require qualified technical support for a typical end user Page 2 Customers can run the Powerware 9170 in a special PowerSave mode which allows the user to get up to 98 efficiency They do this by placing the UPS into bypass and then coming off bypass to go to battery when needed Invensys design i
6. Invensys response to APCs response to competitive claims about the Powerware 9170 Invensys claim The intelligence in this product is built into the power modules Invensys claims that this makes their product more redundant because the user can build more than N 1 redundancy into power battery and intelligence Invensys claims that since their battery packs are less than 30 pounds that their system is more user serviceable than Symmetra They have designed their battery modules so that two 60V battery modules fit into a slot in series to provide a 120V battery system March 26 2001 APC replied While it is true that the user can place additional modules into a frame to create extra redundancy they can only do this if they have not reached capacity of the frame or if they do not have run time requirements that require use of the extra slots In addition while this may seem like a good idea looking at it in reality gives a different understanding The issue is that the components in power modules DC Capacitors MOVs etc are the most likely to fail in the first five years Symmetra Power Modules make up 95 of all APC RMA The components in the intelligence are the least likely to fail Combining the two actually reduces the reliability of the system intelligence The biggest reason this is an issue is that the intelligence drives the automatic internal bypass of the UPS A failure of a module in a non redundant syste
7. When installing or removing modules the Invensys UPS does not tell the user anything This leaves the user with no certainty that the module has made connection and is working The overall diagnostic and control features of the Invensys UPS are clumsy and incomplete These make it very difficult for an end user to set up the system and it is almost impossible to do anything without the manual and some technical support COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL 3 PW9170 utilizes this information to easily calculate the system runtime In the case of a battery alarm additional steps as noted above can be taken to determine the exact battery module for replacement The LCD is not a high failure item and the likelihood of this failing is nearly zero It does require qualified service personnel to remove the top cover for service If the LCD fails the UPS will continue to function normally without affecting the critical load This claim is completely untrue It appears APC did not understand the difference between an internal and an external bypass switch The Powerware 9170 features full redundancy when two or more power modules are utilized Each 3k VA power module incorporates an internal 6kVA static bypass switch which assures that critical loads are never dropped in the unlikely event of a power module failure If a power module fails power is automatically routed through the remaining power module s in the system The LCD clearly indicates to the
8. are required to connect the modules to the intelligence IIC is a very well known highly reliable communications protocol and requires no active components integrated circuits with low MTBF within the frame itself Inspection of the Powerware 9170 frame reveals some integrated circuits exposed in the frame Additionally the Symmetra power modules do disconnect from this bus when they fail virtually eliminating cascading failure Invensys is claiming that it is revolutionary technology that is cutting the cost of the modular design The truth is that the cost of the system has been cut through sacrificing component quality system robustness and by leaving out important system features 1 Examples of component quality are that they have used the bare minimum sized bypass and charging components The bypass relays that drive the internal bypass are sized only big enough to support the load when redundancy is present If the system is in bypass and the user tries to remove a non redundant power module they will experience a load drop see page 24 of Powerware 9170 user manual The chargers in each module are 140W chargers compared to Symmetra s 350w This means that a customer must purchase an external battery charger for runtime requirements over hour These are third party battery chargers that are large clunky and cost 2500 System robustness is evident in the flimsy frame design of the product The Sheet Metal is barely strong enough
9. m or multiple modules in a redundant system could result in down time Additionally APCs Power Modules are intelligent having built in microprocessor control However APC has over all system control modules MIM and RIM whose design objective is to provide the highest availability possible Symmetra users can also add additional power and battery modules to be greater than N 1 redundant providing the loads allow it This ensures greater levels of redundancy where it is needed in the most likely components to fail power and battery It is true that the battery packs are light and that this makes it easy for one person to swap one This however does not mean their overall system is more user serviceable In fact a closer look at the rest of the Invensys design reveals some things that make it much more difficult for a user to service this product Here is a list of some of these things 1 The split battery packs cannot be monitored individually in the UPS frame rather they are monitored as a string This means customers will have to replace both battery modules in the event of a single module failure 2 There is no external cabinet intelligence meaning the customer cannot diagnose bad batteries in these cabinets cannot tell what their actual runtime is and cannot actually find a bad module to swap 3 The LCD display is not user replaceable to swap this display requires someone to remove the top of the unit exposing them to the DC
10. ncludes four UPS frames of different size that can be used anywhere in the world There are different Power Modules for different voltages and universal battery modules There are also three different size extended battery cabinets Two of the UPS frames can be placed in a rack with the purchase of mounting rails or on the floor 3kVA power modules give the customer the flexibility to create 3 6 or 9KVA rackmount and 3 18kVA tower UPS solutions This makes the 9170 the most flexible UPS in the world Invensys has removed all intelligence from the frame and incorporated it into the power modules APC has intelligence built into the frame creatine a March 26 2001 Placing the UPS in bypass and relying on everything to work when switching out of bypass is risky If high efficiency is more important to the customer than high availability then they should look at other UPS topologies like APC s Silcon UPS or Smart UPS that deliver high efficiency without risking the loads Symmetra has an 87 efficiency rating for the 208V product and a 91 efficiency rating for the 230V product Invensys uses universal frames and different voltage modules to build systems around the world APC uses universal modules and different voltage frames to build systems around the world The advantage of using different voltage frames Is that there Is no chance of wiring in a frame and using an incorrect module that does not output the proper
11. ound in the back plane of the Svmmetra in the form of traces contained within circuit boards COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL PowerSave mode is a user selectable mode The system does operate in bypass during this mode but only if the input voltage is within safe and acceptable tolerances user defined If the input voltage falls out of range for any reason the UPS transfers back to normal double conversion online operation Even during normal operation the Powerware 9170 a double conversion online UPS system provides 88 efficiency at full load This option may not be right for all applications but with the current state of energy costs and situations like the crisis in California the PowerSave mode can be a valuable optional mode of operation for our customers The Powerware 9170 utilizes a universal frame in different size ratings 3 6 9 12 slot and two power models and one battery module that may be installed in any of the enclosures slots This allows anyone to install or swap out a module without affecting system operation or performance It also makes stocking for our resellers distributors and OEMs much easier to manage The unit is shipped with a comprehensive Users Guide providing instructions for installation of the system worldwide To date we have had no complaints about the complexity of the manual In addition our unique split phase power modules allow us to offer a 3 wire output without needing to have an expensive
12. solutions As with all power products if the system needs any type of internal service it is good safety practice to completely remove power from the device you are working on thus an external maintenance bypass is recommended Galvanic isolation is currently an available option for the Powerware 9170 It is recommended by all UPS manufactures that periodic maintenance inspections be performed We recommend but do not require annual preventive maintenance inspections with bi annual being the optimal approach In this 24 7 world this proactive approach helps identify potential problems before there is a problem Powerware offers a variety of service options none Page 4 designed to defend eroding market share rather than to be the best solution costing as much as stated by APC and all work performed by possible for customers factory trained company personnel It is important to remember whom the industry leader in patents and innovative technology applications are Powerware We have sacrificed nothing but are providing a better technological lower cost solution to this critical market March 26 2001 COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL Page 5
13. ules may be quickly swapped in and out of the system without affecting system operation or performance But let s look at APC s claims one at a time 1 COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL Contrary to APC s claim a user will NOT have to swap both battery modules in response to a battery alarm by simply switching the modules into another slot and re running the battery test the unit can isolate the individual battery module that needs replacement The Powerware 9170 DOES in fact calculate runtime for the entire battery system without the cost of additional intelligence in the external battery cabinet During start up the PW9170 queries how many external ampere hours are connected to the UPS The Page 1 March 26 2001 the frame The bypass design discussed earlier means they cannot swap a Power Module in a non redundant frame without dropping the load The customer has to know they need to use the external bypass It there is no external bypass they will have to know to remove battery modules from one slot place the new power module in that slot remove the failed power module and then install the battery modules in this slot This leaves lots of opportunities to inadvertently drop the load Extended run times cannot be hot installed once the UPS is on Installing the cable connecting the cabinets requires direct access to the DC bus meaning all power has to be off to the UPS It will also require an electrician to install
14. voltage and could damage the loads Also the universal frame Invensys uses make it more difficult for an electrician to wire the product correctly The users manual has twelve different installation diagrams and several different tables to review in order to correctly install the product Symmetra frames are essentially the same worldwide The only differences are that the 230V frame has no output isolation transformer and the terminal blocks are configured to make it easier for local electricians in different regions to install APC has a Rack mount offering in the 2 16 kVA range while Invensys does not Also Invensys Rack mount offering is simply their 6 slot tower cabinet with some rails ordered separately This solution is size optimized to be a tower not a rack as the Invensys solution for 6k VA N 11 is 22 Rack Units U high Compare that to a Symmetra 6 kVA rack mount N 1 at 8U and a 12kVA N 1 rack optimized solution from APC that takes just 15U of rack space APC provides double power than Invensys in the same rack space Invensys has removed some of the components from the frame that can be found in the Symmetra frame Their claims are not true however APCs intelligence is built into the redundant intelligence modules that are installed in the frame before delivery but can be easily hot swapped by the user in the event of a failure The only part of the intelligence that is in the Symmetra frame is the IIC communication bus This is f
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