APC by Schneider Electric (formerly American Power Conversion Corporation) is a manufacturer of uninterruptible power supplies, electronics peripherals, and data center products. In 2007,

Schneider Electric Schneider Electric SE is a French multinational company that specializes in digital automation and energy management. It addresses homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries, by combining energy technologies, real-time automation ...

acquired APC and combined it with MGE UPS Systems to form Schneider Electric's Critical Power & Cooling Services Business Unit, which recorded 2007 revenue of $3.5 billion (EUR 2.4 billion) and employed 12,000 people worldwide. Until February 2007, when it was acquired, it had been a member of the

S&P 500 The Standard and Poor's 500, or simply the S&P 500, is a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 large companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. It is one of the most commonly followed equity indices. As of ...

list of the largest publicly traded companies in the United States. Schneider Electric, with 113,900 employees and operations in 102 countries, had 2008 annual sales of $26 billion (EUR 18.3 billion). In 2011, APC by Schneider Electric became a product brand only, while the company was rebranded as the IT Business Unit of Schneider Electric.

History

APC was founded in 1981 by three

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

Lincoln Lab electronic power engineers. Originally, the engineers focused on

solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic ef ...

research and development. When government funding for their research dried up, APC shifted its focus to power protection by introducing its first UPS in 1984.

Acquisition by Schneider

announced its acquisition of APC on October 30, 2006 and completed it on February 14, 2007. APC share-holders approved the deal on January 16, 2007. The European Union authorized the merger, provided that Schneider divest itself of the MGE UPS SYSTEMS global UPS business below 10kVA. Late in 2007 Eaton Powerware bought the MGE Office Protection Systems division of Schneider.

Product lines

The company focuses its efforts on four application areas: * Home/home office * Business networks * Access provider networks * Data centers and facilities

Symmetra

APC Symmetra LX is a line of

uninterruptible power supply An uninterruptible power supply or uninterruptible power source (UPS) is an electrical apparatus that provides emergency power to a load when the input power source or mains power fails. A UPS differs from an auxiliary or emergency power syste ...

products, aimed at

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

and server applications. Symmetras come in power configurations ranging from 4 kVA to 16 kVA. Symmetras are built for use in a data center (in a

19-inch rack A 19-inch rack is a standardized frame or enclosure for mounting multiple electronic equipment modules. Each module has a front panel that is wide. The 19 inch dimension includes the edges or "ears" that protrude from each side of the equ ...

for example). They include features such as integrated manageability, hot-swappability, user replaceable power, and battery and intelligence modules. Typical applications include web and other application servers, IP based and traditional PBX voice solutions, and enterprise type network switches.

Smart-UPS

APC Smart-UPS is a line of smaller units intended for home and office use, available as floor-standing and rackmount versions. With the exception of the Smart-UPS Online series (SURT and SRT models), Smart-UPS units are line-interactive UPS systems, running their outputs off the inverters only when the grid power is unavailable.

PowerChute

PowerChute is a

computer program A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to execute. Computer programs are one component of software, which also includes documentation and other intangible components. A computer progra ...

by APC used to control the uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) the company produces. It provides unattended shutdown of servers and

workstation A workstation is a special computer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by a single user, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems. The term ''worksta ...

s in the event of an extended

power outage A power outage (also called a powercut, a power out, a power failure, a power blackout, a power loss, or a blackout) is the loss of the electrical power network supply to an end user. There are many causes of power failures in an electrici ...

. It also monitors and logs the UPS status. Some versions with reduced functionality are shipped together with the UPS units sold by APC, while other versions have to be bought separately. PowerChute Business Edition requires servers to be connected via

serial port In computing, a serial port is a serial communication interface through which information transfers in or out sequentially one bit at a time. This is in contrast to a parallel port, which communicates multiple bits simultaneously in paralle ...

or USB to the monitored Smart-UPS equipment. It provides UPS management and safe server shutdown for up to 25 servers. UPS Network Management Cards made by APC are enabling UPS management, by directly connecting the UPS to the network with its own IP address, avoiding dependence or the need for a server, which is particularly useful in wiring closets where frequently no servers are present. PowerChute Network Shutdown, together with the UPS Network Management Card, enables safe server shutdown by communicating over a network to any network-enabled APC Smart-UPS (those that contain a UPS network management card).

References

External links

*
Schneider Electric

Technical Comparison of On-line vs. Line-interactive UPS Designs
APC White Paper #79, by Jeffrey Samstad and Michael Hoff
APC Smart UPS model ranges/generations (current and legacy) - broad characteristics and comparisons
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