Copyright: BatteryMon 1.1


Overview
BatteryMon by PassMark Software - Overview

BatteryMon is an easy to use Windows based application that allows users to monitor the performance of battery systems being used to power portable computers and compatible uninterruptible power supplies connected to servers. The battery charge level is graphed in real time, along with an extrapolated trend line and comparison trend line. A log file is maintained of the battery charge level and other statistics for later analysis.

For more information click on one of the following topics.

Understanding the display.

Viewing the log file

Examining battery information

External interfaces

Frequently asked questions

What’s new in this version

Copyright and license information

System requirements

Purchasing information

Contacting PassMark Software


Display details
BatteryMon Display

Graph: The battery charge level is graphed in real time. The percentage charge level (0-100%) is shown on the vertical (Y) axis. The sampling times are shown on the horizontal (X) axis. Three lines are shown on the graph. The black line shows the current charge level. The blue line shows the trend line based on the extrapolated samples. The red line shows a comparison to a battery system with a particular life span.

There is also some extra information displayed in the top left of the graph relating to the rate the systems batteries are currently discharging.

Capacity: Displays the current total of all batteries capacities vs. the total of those batteries fully charged capacity.

Capacity drop: Displays the total drop in charge for all batteries since the Start button was pressed.

Discharge rate/Charge rate displays the total rate of change of charge for all batteries.

To the left of the graph the follow information is displayed.

Status: Indicates if BatteryMon is running (collecting samples) or stopped.

A/C Power: Indicates the current power source. Battery (Bat) or mains A/C power (AC)

Battery Status: This is the battery status as reported by the battery. Possible values are high, low, critical, charging. “NoBat” will be displayed if there battery to be monitored.

% Life left: The charge % in the battery, as reported by the battery. Can be between 0% and 100%. Under Windows the battery can only report integer values.

Seconds left: How many seconds of use are left before the computer runs out of power. This information is normally collected from the battery itself, but if the battery pack can’t supply this information it is estimated in the BatteryMon software.

Seconds total: How many seconds are of use are available when the battery is fully charged. This information is normally collected from the battery itself, but if the battery pack can’t supply this information it is estimated in the BatteryMon software.

Num Samples: The number of times BatteryMon has sampled the battery information.

Sample time: This setting determines how often BatteryMon should sample the battery information.

Run time: How long has the sampling session been running for. The format is HH:MM:SS

Discharge rate: The current discharge rate. Total battery life in hours. This is calculated by looking at the rate of discharge over a period of time and extrapolating the discharge rate to a value of 0% charge. It is this value that is represented on the graph by the blue line. When only a few samples have been made the extrapolation is not very accurate and the value can vary widely. Are more samples are made the value becomes more accurate.

Comparison Rate: The user can select a baseline discharge rate to compare to the actual discharge rate. The rate selected here is displayed with a red line on the graph.


Log file description
Log file

The last 1000 samples are logged in memory by BatteryMon. Clicking on the view log button will create a log file on the disk and start up the default text file viewer to view the file (normally Notepad).

The name of the log file is always “batterymonlog.txt”. The file is always created in the BatteryMon executable directory. Each time the View log button is used this file will be overwritten with the current log information.

Five pieces on information are stored for each sample recorded in the log file.

2001-06-24, 10:19:42, 92%, 0.76, 2530

2001-06-24, 10:19:52, 91%, 0.71, 2325

2001-06-24, 10:20:02, 91%, 0.74, 2426

These are,

Date: The date in YYY-MM-DD format

Time: The time the sample was taken. HH:MM:SS format

Percentage charge: The battery charge as a % (0-100%)

Charge rate: Total battery life in hours. This is calculated by looking at the rate of discharge over a period of time and extrapolating the discharge rate to a value of 0% charge. It is this value that is represented on the graph by the blue line. When only a few samples have been made the extrapolation is not very accurate and the value can vary widely. Are more samples are made the value becomes more accurate.

Seconds of charge remaining. How many seconds of use are left before the computer runs out of power. This information is normally collected from the battery itself, but if the battery pack can’t supply this information it is estimated in the BatteryMon software. When only a few samples have been made the extrapolation is not very accurate and the value can vary widely. Are more samples are made the value becomes more accurate.


Battery Information

All available information about each available battery is displayed in this window. How accurate this information is depends on the device driver software supplied with the battery pack and the intelligence of the battery pack. Smart battery packs can provide detailed information about the battery, while dumb battery packs may supply nothing at all. If no information is available the letters N/A are displayed. Battery systems have slots and batteries. A slot is a socket that can hold a battery pack.  It’s not unusual to have more slots that batteries.

Status: Indicates the current status of this particular battery. Values include, “Charging”, “Discharging”, “Critical” and “Not in use”. The Critical status indicates imminent failure.

Manufacturer: The name of the company that manufacturers the battery pack.

Device Name: The name of the device. This is often the model number of the battery pack, as defined by the manufacturer.

Serial number: The serial number of the device as defined by the manufacturer.

Unique ID: An identification string, which is unique across all battery packs. This is often a concatenation of the serial number, the device name and the manufacturers name.

Time remaining: A rough estimate of how much time remains before the battery is fully discharged.

Battery Temperature: The temperature inside the battery pack.

Date of manufacture: The date when the battery was manufactured.

Type of use: Indicates if the batteries normal use is to provide power for normal operations or if the battery is a fail safe device.

Rechargeable: Indicates if the battery is rechargeable or not.

Chemistry: The type of battery. Typical values are, Lead Acid, Lithium Ion, Nickel Cadmium, Nickel Metal Hydride, Nickel Zinc, Rechargeable Alkaline-Manganese

Design capacity: The theoretical capacity of the battery when new. For most batteries this is measured in milliwatts hours.(mWh). For some batteries this figure may not have any units, and will be a relative value.

Full charge capacity: The battery's current fully charged capacity in mWh (or relative). In some batteries it is possible to compare this value to the designed capacity to estimate the battery's wear.

Current capacity: The battery’s current charged capacity in mWh (or relative). For some batteries this figure may not have any units, and will be a relative value.

Alert levels: The manufacturer's suggestion of when a "low" and “Warning” battery alert should occur. Definitions of "low" and “Warning” will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Bias: Some batteries reserve a small charge that is biased out of the battery's Full Charge Capacity and Current Capacity values to show "0" as the critical battery level. Critical bias is analogous to setting a fuel gauge to show "empty" when there are several liters of fuel left.

Charge cycles: The count of the number of charge/discharge cycles the battery has experienced. This provides a means to determine the battery's wear. Not all batteries will support this feature.

Voltage: The current battery voltage in Volts across the battery terminals.

Charge Rate: The current rate of battery charge or discharge. This value will be in mW unless the battery is relative, in which case it will be in arbitrary units per hour. A nonzero positive rate indicates charging; a negative rate indicates discharging.


External interface
External Interfaces

BurnInTest Interface

BatteryMon can work with another product from PassMark Software called, BurnInTest. If you have BurnInTest version 2.2.1006 and above, then it can be configured to log the battery statistics collected by BatteryMon. This can be configured from within BurnInTest. Both programs need to be active and running for this feature to work. See BurnInTest for more details.

Shared memory interface

This section is intended for programmers and software integrators looking to use BatteryMon as part of their complete software solution.

Most of the information collected by BatteryMon relating to the batteries is exposed via a shared memory interface. This interface allows the collected information to be used by other software products which have been designed to be compatible with BatteryMon.

The name of the shared memory interface is, "BatteryMonInterface". Here is an example of how to access the interface in C++.

hMappedObject = OpenFileMapping (FILE_MAP_READ,FALSE,"BatteryMonInterface");

pDataAddress = MapViewOfFile(hMappedObject,FILE_MAP_READ,0,0,0);

After the interface has been opened the data relating to each battery can accessed.

Contact us for more details on the structure of the data in this interface, support@passmark.com

Custom development

If you need BatteryMon customized to fit your application or product please let us know.

sales@passmark.com


Contacting PassMark
Contacting PassMark Software

On the Web

You can contact PassMark on the web at

http://www.passmark.com

E-Mail

For technical support questions, suggestions

support@passmark.com

For sales & commercial issues

sales@passmark.com

For any other issues

info@passmark.com

FAQ

You may also want to check out the list of Frequently Asked Questions .


Ordering and License
Purchasing information

Price

US Dollars:	$15  (Single user)

 from the PassMark Software web site

See the PassMark website  http://www.passmark.com/sales for details of multiuser pricing and site licenses

What happens when you order

After the order is accepted by our sales agent, a license Key will be returned (via E-Mail, Fax or normal mail). This Key is then entered with the User Name into the initial, ‘Welcome’ window. At this point the program then changes permanently into the licensed version. Keys are normally returned within 12 hours or less.

What you get when you purchase the software

•	Free Technical support via the Web and E-Mail

http://www.passmark.com/support

•	Free minor upgrades & bug fixes as they become available

http://www.passmark.com/download

•	The removal of the initial shareware startup window

•	The removal of the 30day evaluation period associated with the shareware version.

How to order

Online

If you would like to purchase BatteryMon, you can do so online using a credit card via a secure connection at

http://www.passmark.com/sales

Offline

You can also order over the phone, via a PurchaseOrder or Fax, see our web page for details

http://www.passmark.com/sales

Other information

Confidentiality

All personal details supplied when placing an order will be strictly confidential. Online orders will only be accepted over a secure, encrypted connection.

Multi-user & Site Licenses

Contact PassMark software, asking about our attractive rates for Multi-user and site licenses.

http://www.passmark.com/sales

sales@passmark.com

User Names and License Keys

Both the User Name and License Key must be correctly entered before the software turns itself into the licensed version. Be careful because the Key is case sensitive (upper case characters must be entered in upper case and lower case characters must be entered in lower case). The User Name and Key should be kept in a safe place in case the software ever needs to be reinstalled. Step by step instructions are available online, if required,

http://www.passmark.com/support/keyhelp.htm

Questions & more information

If you have any questions we would be happy to hear about them. Contact

sales@passmark.com


System Requirements

80486 50Mhz or faster.

Windows 98, WinMe, Window 2000, Windows XP
(Windows 95 and NT are not supported)

16Meg RAM

1 Meg of free hard disk space to install the software

A compatible battery system.


Copyright and License
Copyright & License information

Copyright & End User license

This End-User License Agreement (“EULA”) is for the PassMark BatteryMon software.

EULA is a legal agreement between you (either an individual or a single entity) and PassMark Corporation for the PassMark software product identified above, which includes computer software and may include associated media, printed materials, and “online” or electronic documentation (“SOFTWARE PRODUCT”).  By installing, copying, or otherwise using the SOFTWARE PRODUCT, you agree to be bound by the terms of this EULA.  If you do not agree to the terms of this EULA, do not install or use the SOFTWARE PRODUCT.

1. GRANT OF LICENSE. This EULA grants you the following rights:

•	A license is granted only after the payment of the license fee.

•	If no license fee has been paid the product can be used for evaluation purposes for a maximum period of 30 days.

•	After the license fee has been paid, you may install and use one copy of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT, or any prior version on a single computer, or on a single removable disk. The SOFTWARE PRODUCT must NOT be installed on a network where it could be used by more than a single computer unless a multi-user license has been purchased.

•	The primary user of the computer on which the licensed SOFTWARE PRODUCT is installed may make a second copy for his or her exclusive use on a portable computer.

0	2. DESCRIPTION OF OTHER RIGHTS AND LIMITATIONS.

•	Limitations on Reverse Engineering, Decompilation, and Disassembly.

You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the SOFTWARE PRODUCT.

•	The shareware version of the software may be freely distributed provided that no fee is charged and the product is distributed complete and intact.

3. COPYRIGHT.

All title and copyrights in and to the SOFTWARE PRODUCT (including but not limited to any images, photographs, animations, video, audio, music, text, and “applets” incorporated into the SOFTWARE PRODUCT), the accompanying printed materials, and any copies of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT are owned by PassMark. The SOFTWARE PRODUCT is protected by copyright laws and international treaty provisions. Therefore, you must treat the SOFTWARE PRODUCT like any other copyrighted material except that you may install the licensed SOFTWARE PRODUCT on a single computer provided you keep the original solely for backup or archival purposes.

LIMITED WARRANTY.

PassMark warrants that (a) the licensed SOFTWARE PRODUCT will perform substantially in accordance with the accompanying written materials for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of receipt, and (b) any Support Services provided by PassMark shall be substantially as described in applicable written materials provided to you by PassMark, and PassMark support engineers will make commercially reasonable efforts to solve any problem issues. Some states and jurisdictions do not allow limitations on duration of an implied warranty, so the above limitation may not apply to you. To the extent allowed by applicable law, implied warranties on the SOFTWARE PRODUCT, if any, are limited to ninety (90) days.

No warranty of any sort of offered on the evaluation version of the software, until a license fee is paid.

Additional information

For questions regarding the copyright, end user license contact, multi-user licenses and site licenses, contact.

info@passmark.com


Problems and FAQ
Problems and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Note: See the PassMark website (www.passmark.com) for the latest version of the FAQ

Q. How accurate is BatteryMon?

BatteryMon is only as accurate as the battery pack which supplies the information. Due to their chemical nature it is often hard to get a precise indication as to the charge level in the battery.

Q. Are all types of portable computers and UPS’s supported?

Some older nonstandard battery systems and UPSs are not supported. Machines running Windows95 and WindowsNT are also not supported. Machines running Windows98, Me, 2000 are supported.

Q. How many batteries can be reported on?

A unlimited number of batteries are supported for the graph display. For the detailed, per battery, information up to 4 battery slots are supported.

Q. The log file appears to be limited in size. Is it possible for user to change the log file size, and/or sampling frequency?

The log only stores the last 1000 samples. However it is possible to change the sample rate by entering a new value for "Sample time" in the BatteryMon window.

If you chance this value to 30sec, then the log should cover 8.3hours

If you chance this value to 60sec, then the log should cover 16.7hours


Whats new - version history
What new - Version history

Version 1.2  23/12/2002

•	Fixed incorrect units for charge 'rate' in info window. Was mW/h but should have been mW.

•	Added current capacity to the battery info window.

•	Added current capacity, total capacity, capacity drop and charge rate display to the main window.

V1.1.1000  27/Oct/2001

•	Windows XP support

V1.0.1001  13/Oct/2001

•	Bug fix that corrects graph position for displays running at greater than the standard 96dots per inch.

V1.0.1000  19/Sept/2001

•	The first full version of BateryMon is released