APC Smart-UPS 700VA serial port connection works with unRAID/apcuspd?

[ronin688]

Hi all, 

 

I'm building my first unRAID server and I'm looking into which UPS to get. I've got the option to get a APC Smart-UPS 700VA (SU700X93) for a very good price (BNIB) but it only has a serial port connection. No USB port. 

 

My motherboard doesn't have a built in serial port, but has a header so I could install a card very easily. I'm just wondering if unRAID communicates well with UPS over a serial port, and if there are any other issues I may face using a setup like this. 

 

Thanks!

[JonathanM]

If it doesn't come with the correct cable, you will either need to fabricate or purchase one. It's not a normal serial cable.

 

Otherwise, it should work properly, albeit it may not report all the parameters that a newer UPS would.

[ronin688]

1 hour ago, jonathanm said:

If it doesn't come with the correct cable, you will either need to fabricate or purchase one. It's not a normal serial cable.

 

Otherwise, it should work properly, albeit it may not report all the parameters that a newer UPS would.

 

Thanks for the reply! I really appreciate the community. 

 

Looks like it has the original cable with it so that's no issue.  Is there any way I could determine what parameters it does or doesn't have? Either way I'm probably going to go for it, I don't need anything fancy, and I very rarely lose power. (Like once in the last two years)

[JonathanM]

8 hours ago, ronin688 said:

 

Thanks for the reply! I really appreciate the community. 

 

Looks like it has the original cable with it so that's no issue.  Is there any way I could determine what parameters it does or doesn't have? Either way I'm probably going to go for it, I don't need anything fancy, and I very rarely lose power. (Like once in the last two years)

Unless you find someone with an identical model that can give you apcupsd status report on it, you won't know until you try. The cable should have a model number on it, you use that model number as the cable type, and try apcsmart or dumb as the ups type, even though that UPS has smart in the name, it may not support the full smart protocol. You will also have to figure out which tty number to use.

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/apcupsd

Quote

Option

Valid Values

Description

UPSCABLE

usb, simple, smart, ether, or a specific cable model number (i.e. 940-119A, 940-0127A, etc.)

Defines the type of cable connecting the UPS to your computer. Most modern APC UPS units come with a USB to RJ-45 management cable. If this is the type of cable you are using, "usb" is the proper value of this option.

UPSTYPE

apcsmart, usb, net, snmp, netsnmp, dumb, pcnet, modbus

Most newer UPSes are USB, so you probably want the value to be usb . However, if you are managing a particular UPS over the network, or using a different type of management interface, there are various options provided here.

DEVICE

Depends on the value of UPSTYPE, for apcsmart DEVICE should be /dev/tty**, for net it should be hostname:port, etc. For USB UPSes, I suggest leaving the value of DEVICE blank as this will cause it to auto-detect the UPS.

Designates the device type. A default installation may have an arbitrary /dev/tty value set, even though the UPSTYPE value is USB, so you need only delete that value and leave DEVICE blank if you're connected directly to a modern UPS with a standard issue USB to RJ-45 management cable. More details for specific hardware can be found inside the config file itself.

 

[ronin688]

Thanks for the reply. It got me reading up on NUT and apcupsd!