CyberPower CP350SLG - Small and Silent as it should be!


I received my CyberPower CP350SLG a couple weeks ago and I realized I had not followed up on my previous post about the APC BE350G I received for Christmas. The CyberPower 350VA model is substantially smaller than the APC unit and fits neatly under our desk. There are three battery backed up outlets and three that are surge only, with one separated from the other two on each for power bricks. I plugged our AT&T U-Verse modem/router and one cordless phone on the battery side, so they should last quite a while since they are the only two devices on battery power.

The big deal for me with this low priced UPS, however, is the simple fact that you can actually disable the audible alarm. I thought I would need software and a USB cable, but in reality all you do is press the power button twice quickly to toggle between alarm on mode and alarm off mode. I wanted it off, so after two quick button presses it was set. I tested it by unplugging the unit from the wall and sure enough, the modem kept running but no horrific beeps blared out of the UPS. Here is the documentation from the instruction sheet:


So that was it! Whereas this simple feature is not available on the low end 350VA model from APC, it is easily set on the CyberPower model for about the same price of about $40. Thank you, CyberPower!

What is ironic about talking about low end UPS systems, is that the high end 3000VA rack mount Alpha UPS systems in our lovely building at the university are causing us so much grief. They were installed when our building was first constructed which means they are all over 10 years old now. We have eight of these units and some of them are supporting single switches which I doubt are pulling even an amp of current. But now when the power goes out or when we have "emergency power testing", one of the units fails almost all the time, causing switches to lose power and taking down portions of our network. I currently have two wiring rooms where the power distribution units are plugged straight into wall power since that is now more reliable than these huge 3000VA UPS systems which are failing us and do not come back online after an outage. Luckily, the UPS systems will likely all be replaced, but they are owned by facilities and must go through committees and be properly sized and bid out to vendors which means months of waiting. While we wait I will just plug the switches into the wall circuits until the "process" allows us to have new UPS systems.

So now my internet connection at home is protected by a $40 CyberPower UPS, but the main network connectivity for our multi-million dollar university building has nothing. Go figure...

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