Power, UPS & PDU monitoring · 6 min read

Set alert thresholds for UPS battery runtime and load

The default thresholds catch a UPS that's already failed. Here's how to tune them to catch one that's degrading.

What you'll need

  • At least one UPS already reporting over SNMP in Linivo
1

Set a runtime-remaining warning before it's critical

The default alert fires when estimated runtime drops below 5 minutes, which is often too late to act. Add a warning-level threshold around 15–20 minutes so there's time to gracefully shut down dependent load before power actually runs out.

2

Alert on load percentage, not just battery state

A UPS running at 90%+ load has little headroom if a redundant unit fails; set a load threshold independent of battery status so you catch capacity problems before an actual outage forces the issue.

3

Watch battery age and self-test failures separately

Most UPS MIBs report last self-test result and battery replacement indicators. Alerting on these catches a battery that needs replacing well before a real outage reveals it can't hold a charge.