Eaton 5P1500RC 5P UPS Review

The Eaton 5P1500RC 5P is a new compact 2U UPS designed to protect equipment in edge computing environments. The 5P1500RC is specifically designed for those who need advanced protection features but have limited space available. The 5P1500RC is highlighted by a rail kit design for wall-mount with two-post and four-post mounting options, adding a ton of versatility and support for multiple applications.

The Eaton 5P1500RC 5P is a new compact 2U UPS designed to protect equipment in edge computing environments. The 5P1500RC is specifically designed for those who need advanced protection features but have limited space available. The 5P1500RC is highlighted by a rail kit design for wall-mount with two-post and four-post mounting options, adding a ton of versatility and support for multiple applications.

For real-time monitoring and control, users can add a Network Management Card to the 5P1500RC, which allows the UPS to connect to a network via the Internet. This will enable a plethora of remote management features, including: recording event history, data logging options for future analysis, rebooting protected devices over SNMP/web, starting live virtual machine migrations, notifying and sending email/SMS notifications and alarms. The Network Management Card also allows users to initiate “customizable actions” such as automatic shutdowns during extended power failures. Moreover, its remote power off port allows users to remotely signal the UPS to sever to all connected equipment, which is particularly useful when network-based security threats are detected.

Eaton’s Intelligent Power Manager software also works well with a Network Management Card. Users can configure prioritized shutdowns and automated restart protocols, schedule daily/weekly reboots or pre-emptively shutdown attached equipment, and shutdown/reboot frozen IT equipment without having to deploy staff on site, which can certainly be costly. Avoiding an expense like this is very attractive to businesses.The Eaton 5P RC line also includes the 5P750RC and the 5P1000RC, with numbers indicating size. 

Eaton 5P1500RC 5P UPS Specifications

Design and build

The 5P1500RC is a rugged device follows the same basic design as other 2U Eaton battery-backup models, albeit with a shorter depth. This compact UPS sports a shorter depth than a standard 5P UPS, as this Eaton line gives IT staff more clearance to work with (4-5 inches, depending on the model).

The front panel of the 5P1500RC has a five-button LCD (with escape, up, down, enter and on/off) that displays general information about the UPS, load status, events, measurements and settings. Above the LCD are the Power on, batter, and alarm indicators, which tells users if the UPS is operating normally, on battery mode or if it has an active alarm, respectively.

The back panel is host to all the connectivity. To the left is the 1.8 m input power cord for AC power source, slot for an optional communication card, RS232 communication port, USB communication port, and Connector for ROO (remote ON/OFF) or RPO (Remote Power Off) control. On the right side is the primary group of outlets for critical equipment (4), and the two programmable outlet groups (3×2).

Management

In tandem with the UPS we're also looking at the new Eaton Gigabit Network Card, Network-M2. This new card brings a completely overhauled management engine to the Eaton UPS lineup and is much faster in terms of responsiveness compared to past management cards. The Home section of the Eaton Gigabit Network Card management interface displays general status information for the 5P1500RC, such as synoptic diagrams, key measures and active alarms. This includes the energy flow diagram, which shows the automatic voltage regulation, inverter, batter and charger. Hovering over any of the objects gives a detailed overview of them.

With the added Eaton Environmental Monitoring Probe Gen 2 users can also collect temperature, humidity and dry contacts readings along with the ability to monitor the environmental data remotely. The name, location current and communication status are listed.

In Alarm configuration section, users can set temperature thresholds; when the UPS hits specific conditions, users will be notified. Simply click save after entering the desired ranges.

The Sensor commissioning feature has three options: Discover, Delete and Define offsets.

• Discover launches the sensor discovery process, which will populate the table if sensors are found.
• The Delete option simply removes the selected sensor.
• Define offset adjusts the temperature and humidity offsets.

The Network module firmware section monitors the information the embedded firmware and allows users to upgrade the Network Module’s firmware. Users also have the option to activate one of the embedded firmware versions. To upgrade the firmware, simply download the latest version from the Eaton website then click the +Upload button and select the specific firmware. Users can also reboot the network module operating system, and save and restore the network module settings from this section.

The Power outage policy setting controls how the network module shutdowns protected servers and appliances. Users can prioritize and schedule shutdown actions as well.

The Agent shutdown sequence timing section allows admins to setup when specific agents, such as servers or arrays, can be powered down. The feature allows for sequential and immediate shutdown depending on the specific needs. 

Here, users can set policies for each power source connected to the UPS. The shutdown policy can be enabled or disabled via the check-boxes. If they are disabled, the policy will be greyed out. For example, in our use case, the Load shedding policy starts a shutdown for a set time in seconds or when the battery’s capacity reaches the set capacity (%).

With Scheduled Shutdowns, users can turn off the UPS or individual load segments on a specific day and time. Eaton indicates that this can be used for energy savings by scheduling shutdowns outside of office hours. It can improve cybersecurity by powering down network equipment when a threat is suspected.

The Pairing with shutdown agents section is a way to connect the UPS network module with shutdown agents based on matching certificates. If the network was set up in a secure and trusted network, new agent connections are automatically trusted and accepted within a given timeframe. The rest cannot connect. 

The Power section shows the product input and output measures in voltage, frequency (input and output), power and current (output).

Controls are displayed for the entire UPS, displaying its status, associated commands, and the pending action. The Status shows the current mode of the UPS; commands give users available actions; and pending action shows users the delay before shutdown and delays before startup.

Conclusion

The Eaton 5P1500RC is a bit different than than the average UPS, and that's a good thing. It is a shorter compact model that in bundled with all-inclusive mounting hardware to work in a 2-post rack (it includes four-post mounting support as well). This is a significant feature, as most UPSs require 4 post racks to be properly supported. This certainly adds a ton of versatility. Telco-oriented businesses that work in mostly 2-post rack environments will benefit most from the 5P1500RC’s design, as well as those who don't have has much room for deeper UPS products.

As far as its functionality goes, the 5P1500RC offers a range of remote management features that can save both cost, time on-site visits. With the optional network card, the unit has a lot to offer in terms of configuration and reporting. Further, the interface has been modernized some since we last looked at Eaton products, which is a nice progressive step forward. Overall, we're always impressed with what Eaton has to offer and that remains the case here. In areas where a more compact unit is needed for battery backup, the 5P1500RC 5P UPS is a great well-rounded solution.

Eaton UPS at Amazon

Discuss this review

Sign up for the StorageReview newsletter