Backup and Restore
1–34 iSTAR eX Installation and Configuration Guide
iSTAR eX receives the AC Fail and Low Battery signals from the External 
Power Supply through the PMB and then over the Serial Peripheral 
Interface (SPI) bus to the GCM.
PMB
The PMB is required for power failure backups. iSTAR eX gets its power loss 
inputs as protocol messages over the SPI bus from the PMB. If there is no 
device responding to the Power Management protocol over the SPI bus, 
iSTAR eX will not get its power loss “inputs” and will not know when to 
perform a backup. 
NOTE
You can tell the iSTAR eX to initiate the backup process by wiring Low 
Battery to Backup Now. When the Backup Now signal activates, iSTAR eX 
stops all processes, writes all data to the Compact Flash, and waits for the 
AC Fail signal to deactivate. When power is restored, the AC Fail signal 
deactivates and the iSTAR eX reboots. It recovers the data from the 
Compact Flash and resumes normal operation.
UL has not evaluated wiring Battery Low to Backup Now and the use of 
the Backup Now feature.
NOTE
The iSTAR eX cannot be installed as a standalone unit. 
The tamper, low battery, and AC power fail inputs must be configured in 
the C•CURE software. If the tamper, low battery, and AC power fail 
inputs require configuration, go to the Hardware > Controller> Special 
Purpose Input dialog box, as shown in Figure 4.6 on page 4-11.
If the PMB is not connected or if it fails, the low battery and AC power fail 
inputs will be reported as true. This notifies users that the PMB is no 
longer functional. To prevent repetitive reporting of the inputs, clear the 
configuration check boxes.