Liebert GXT4 UPS 500VA 450W 120V, Online Double Conversion Rack mount/Tower UPS, Uninterruptible Power Supply, Sine Wave, AVR, Battery Backup with Surge Protection(GXT4-500RT120)

======================================= Update ===================================I encountered a legitimate technical issue with the ability to use Nform software to monitor the Liebert GXT-4. (See my original review below.) Liebert technical support was at first responsive and helpful. However, they subsequently gave up and ignored my multiple requests for technical assistance.*** No company should ever give up on a customer and leave them in the lurch--especially a customer who has a legitimate technical issue.***Therefore I am reducing my rating from four stars to two stars.============================== Original Review =====================The Liebert 500VA 450W 120V ON-Line UPS (model GXT4-500RT120) is more than the typical home office UPS. This device borders on the professional UPS units that are deployed in network hubs and data centers.My home office network utilizes a centralized file server, security video monitoring system, main router, main network switch and a firewall. Previously these devices were run off of a small home-type APC UPS. While it did the job, the VA (volt-amp) rating was low. As a result, I had only a few minutes to act in downing and safely shutting down devices in the event of a power failure.The Liebert GXT4 UPS is considerably more potent. Instead of providing a one or two minutes of backup power, at its current load, I should have roughly 20 minutes of backup power time. That should be enough to ensure that the power really is out (and not just a brief outage) and then to act in a more leisurely manner to safely shutdown the centralized equipment.The Liebert GXT4 UPS has another advantage over my previous UPS. It is really more of an inverter/power conditioner that runs constantly. In other words, instead of acting like a switch to turn on the battery-based AC supply when the power fails, it remains constantly in an on-line mode conditioning the power and regenerating it. This results in a continuous power output in the event of a power failure. For critical or sensitive equipment, this is a definite plus over the traditional UPS.This is a large, heavy unit. It weighs about 40 pounds. It can be rack mounted (rack mount kit and hardware are included) or it can be used either horizontally or vertically in a mini tower configuration. The LCD display and the logo both can be turned 90 degrees depending on the position that is chosen. The UPS ships with the battery already connected. The battery is hot swappable (it can be replaced while the UPS is running.)My evaluation UPS came with the optional Liebert IntelliSlot Web Card. With the companion Nform software, the card allows access for monitoring or control of the UPS from any Windows computer on the network.Strangely, the initial configuration of the card requires the connection of a COM cable and the use of the serial port communications program such as HyperTerminal. It is strange to see a COM port used with terminal software required in a modern device. HyperTerminal is very 1990s and not that commonly used today. In terms of COM ports, not a single PC in my home office has one. Virtually everyone in the civilized world today uses a USB port to communicate between PCs and their devices. Liebert should do the same.The IntelliSlot Web Card requires a download of Liebert’s Nform management software (Windows only.) The software was not provided with card–although it should have been. The Quick Start Guide that came with the Intellislot Web Card indicated that a downloadable version of Nform was available online at nform.liebert.com. However, when I went to that address in my web browser, I received an error 404, Not Found message. I had to contact Liebert Support to get a working web site address to download the software. Although support did respond quickly, none of this should have been necessary. Printed documentation should be correct and up-to-date–even if this is handled with an addendum sheet.Using the Nform Viewer looked potentially interesting. It appeared that I could see the status of the UPS and adjust a number of operational factors and conditions. Unfortunately, I was limited in my use of Nform because, while I was successful in logging into the Nform application, the application was unable to communicate with the Liebert GXT4 UPS.Nothing that I tried was successful at establishing communication between the Nform application and the UPS. Changing he SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) settings were unable to fix the communications issue. I sought help from Liebert Technical Support on this issue. While they were responsive and initially helpful, their suggestions for establishing communications were unsuccessful and somewhat incomplete. When I asked for clarification and more assistance, I heard nothing further from them.As for the Liebert GXT4 UPS itself, I am generally impressed with it. It appears to be more than capable of doing the job of powering and protecting my network and video monitoring gear. However, I noticed that my GXT4 arrived with a long mar (scratch) on the top cover. Previously, I had reviewed a Liebert 650VA 390W Line-Interactive UPS that had arrived with broken plastic parts loose inside of the UPS. I could not determine where the plastic parts came from initially. However, the UPS worked as expected, so I used it. Recalling that issue, plus seeing a large scratch on a brand new, just out of the shipping carton UPS makes me wonder about the manufacturing quality control of Liebert’s products.As with far too many sophisticated products today, you get a quick start guide and some measurement data with the UPS. However, the full manual must be downloaded from the Liebert web site. I get that the vendors are trying to save money (and perhaps some trees as well.) Still, devices that are this sophisticated (and intended largely for the home office and commercial market) should absolutely come with printed manuals. This is an oversight on Liebert’s part.I will continue to use my Liebert GXT4 UPS to power my network and video gear. However, I will remain disappointed that, for reasons that I can not understand, I never received the necessary support to fully utilize the sophisticated capabilities that were built into the device with its optional IntelliSlot Web Card

My husband is the director of web development for a large company and we have a pretty decent sized set up in his home office. This thing - while it works incredibly well - is so, so LOUD - I can't stand it! I was hoping I would get used to it or it would somehow quiet down after a few minutes - but no suck luck!

I've seen a lot of Liebert gear in large commercial datacenters - this is my first experience with using one of their products in a home setting.The Liebert 500VA UPS has a lot of amazing high-end features. It's built like a tank, and a great feature is that you can connect it to a second battery for much greater capacity. I also like that it's "on-line", and it seems to provide all the clean, stable sine-wave power you might need. It's also fairly easy to service...lower end units generally just get thrown out and replaced when the battery goes, but the Liebert makes it easy to just replace the batteries every 3-5 years.I like also that it comes with standards-based monitoring that works whether you use the provided Leibert software or anything else. The various "IntelliSlot" expansion cards have SNMP support, meaning that you can monitor and control the UPS from just about any SNMP management tool. This also provides good integration into my home automation system, enabling me to trigger various actions should there be a power outage.If you're installing the Liebert in a datacenter equipment rack, there's flexibility to rack mount or tower mount the unit. It's heavy, so you'll definitely want to mount it with care. I'd definitely recommend the Liebert 100% for datacenter scenarios, especially when compared to more consumer-oriented products from APC and other lower-end companies.In my case, I wanted to try the UPS in my home, where I have a stack of computers, network and home automation gear and AV equipment in need of power protection. Mostly, what I have is just a bunch of expensive, but low-capacity devices - nothing really challenging in terms of massive loads, so the 500VA solution is plenty for me, especially when backed by the optional second battery. The AV equipment doesn't need battery backup - just clean power, so in the event of a loss of power, my home automation system shuts down all the AV gear pretty quickly.The good news is that by adding the second battery and shedding unnecessary load, I seem to get about six hours of runtime for the essentials - my VoIP phones, surveillance cameras and the PoE hubs that power them, plus my access points, home automation controller and a small server. For better or worse, I live in an area where power outages are all too common, so I get the chance to test the Liebert all the time. I'm happy to say that it's worked as expected every time, without so much as a single hiccup.Still, there are a few things to consider if you're installing the Liebert in a home setting. First and foremost is the noise factor - the fan noise in the UPS is quite loud for a home device. Sure, if you're installing it in a datacenter equipment rack alongside other noisy servers, you probably wouldn't notice, but in a home setting, it's loud - too loud to be put under a desk where someone expects to work, for example. In my case, I already had a sound-insulated equipment rack tucked away in a small sound-proofed equipment closet with the rest of my gear - even still, it's loud enough to hear...definitely calls for care in where you install it. To be clear, most of the UPS devices in this size and category are noisy, so it's not like this is unique to Liebert.Based on my experience with other brands - APC, Tripp-Lite, CyberPower, etc - I have no trouble recommending the Liebert. It's pretty much anything you might want in a UPS, and they offer lots of great capacity options to match whatever you need to power.