The APC AP7900 is a 1U single phase PDU with 8 switchable outlets and a network interface. It’s been EoL’d and can be had for less than 20% of it’s original price on eBay. The network interface is so underpowered tha it can’t support any modern cryptographic ciphers.

So with that, here’s a revised copy of my notes from the process of getting the device reset, updated and monitored.

The Hardware

Unfortunately, there’s no “reset everything to defaults” button or button sequence on the PDU. The unit I purchased had been configured with a manual IP assignment so it wasn’t as straightforward as using an unfolded paperclip to press the reboot button at boot and wait for a successful DHCP negotiation. This process has been covered before, so I’ll omit it here. In short: connect to the local mgmt interface via the serial port, adjust the network configuration and other settings as needed.

This is part rant, part “reference” for anybody else that’s struggling to get their Amcrest IP Camera to work with Home Assistant via ONVIF. Skip to TL;DR for a working Home Assistant config.

Briefly, ONVIF is an industry group that maintains a set of standards to allow for interoperability between IP Cameras and related devices from multiple vendors. One set of protocols so your cameras from $vendorA will work with with the recording/analytics software from $vendorB which can then pipe events into software from $vendorC. How ONVIF works and how it’s implemented are beyond the scope of this rant, but, like most standards that haven’t aged well, SOAP is involved. 🤮.