The Front And Back Of The 1500VA UPS

The front of the 1500VA UPS is less "button-inclined" than other UPS units I've seen which makes for a more clean look.

The back of the 1500VA reveals quite an assortment of inputs for a moderately-priced UPS unit. At a street price of about $150, there is quite the professional assortment of inputs, ranging from AC to Cat5(e) and RJ11 to RJ14.

Inputs And Outputs

Taking a closer look at the back panel of the 1500VA UPS, we have two distinct sections. On the left, the communications ports, and on the right, the AC input outlets.

Starting from the left of the communications area, one Cat5 input and two Cat5 outputs are available. An RS-232 jack is also available for older monitoring systems. A USB port for monitoring purposes is definitely welcomed. Belkin says to only operate one of these ports for monitoring (use either the RS-232 port OR the USB port--not both). One regular phone jack input and two outputs are provided. And just to the right of the phone jacks is the Site Wiring Fault indicator, which will illuminate a solid bright red color if there is a site wiring fault with the AC outlet the 1500VA UPS is connected to.

Above the phone jacks you will see what looks like an option for an add-on, and you would be correct. The Belkin F6C1500-TW-RK supports an SNMP card, which usually costs as much as or more than the UPS you're purchasing. In this particular case, Belkin offers an SNMP card (shown below) at an MSRP for $279.99 (part # F6C020). As of the publish date of this review, they can be found for around $215. Yes, these are expensive and cost more than the UPS you will be purchasing.

What's so nice about this addition? Well, it offers you the capability of monitoring your UPS's power via the internet, but also allows for remote shutdown of everything attached to the UPS.

Below, the eight AC outlets which permit a total of 835W to be connected to the UPS. It is important not use up to the extreme limit of the UPS, and almost every UPS company recommends a 20% "safe zone". A safe zone permits the UPS to fluctuate when particular peripherals draw more power at certain times of use. So, while 835W is the maximum amount of what the 1500VA UPS will accept, you should only attach about 675W-700W of power draw from components to allow for your computer components and any other type of peripheral attached to the F6C1500-TW-RK, to have some breathing room when necessary.