Can I configure my UnRAID server to shutdown a Windows PC using a UPS?


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Ok, so I have an APC Back UPS XS 1300 connected to my UnRAID server with the proprietary APC RJ-45 to USB cable (or something similar).  APCUPSD is installed with clean power down and functioning correctly.  Since my UPS is more than enough for both my UnRAID server and Windows 7 x64 PC, I was trying to figure out a way to send a power down command to the PC over my network.  The 2 machines are both connected to a D-Link DGS-2208 switch which is also connected to the UPS battery backup.  I don't run both machines all the time so I've preferred to keep the UnRAID server connected to the UPS as the PC is usually only on if someone is home.

 

I've done enough research to know I can't connect more than one PC directly to the UPS and that a script issuing a shutdown command over my network is likely my best option.  That's why I'm posting here as I'd like to keep my configuration the same and send the shutdown command from UnRAID server to Windows PC.  Unfortunately, I have no idea if this is possible and if so, how to write it.  Anyone else doing this or something similar already??  I'm also open to changing the UPS if necessary but would like to keep the cost as low as possible (ie I've seen UPS's for enterprise solutions with network cards built-in that I was hoping to avoid).

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Yes - it's possible.  You are already half way there since you say you have APCUPSD running under unRAID.  What you may not know is that APCUPSD can also run on other machines on the same network as slaves of the instance that you already have running on the server (which is regarded as master).  That one is the master because it is the one monitoring the UPS. 

 

What you need to do is to install APCUPSD for Windows and then configure it as a slave such that it monitors the current master (setting the IP address or name of the server and port number - usually 3551).  You may also need to check and or modify the timing settings so that the Windows machine shuts down when you need it to. 

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Ok, so I've downloaded and installed the Windows version of APCUPSD but I can't seem to figure out which variables I need to change in the conf file.  All I want to do is have my UnRAID tower tell the Win PC to shutdown gracefully during an extended power outage (let's say 5 min to be safe).  Let's assume the UnRAID tower has IP 192.168.1.100 and the Win PC has .101.  What do I need to change?

 

Here's an unedited version is attached and here's the code:

 

## apcupsd.conf v1.1 ##
# 
#  for apcupsd release 3.14.10 - win32-mingw
#
# "apcupsd" POSIX config file

#
# ========= General configuration parameters ============
#

# UPSNAME xxx
#   Use this to give your UPS a name in log files and such. This
#   is particulary useful if you have multiple UPSes. This does not
#   set the EEPROM. It should be 8 characters or less.
#UPSNAME

# UPSCABLE <cable>
#   Defines the type of cable connecting the UPS to your computer.
#
#   Possible generic choices for <cable> are:
#     simple, smart, ether, usb
#
#   Or a specific cable model number may be used:
#     940-0119A, 940-0127A, 940-0128A, 940-0020B,
#     940-0020C, 940-0023A, 940-0024B, 940-0024C,
#     940-1524C, 940-0024G, 940-0095A, 940-0095B,
#     940-0095C, M-04-02-2000
#
UPSCABLE usb

# To get apcupsd to work, in addition to defining the cable
# above, you must also define a UPSTYPE, which corresponds to
# the type of UPS you have (see the Description for more details).
# You must also specify a DEVICE, sometimes referred to as a port.
# For USB UPSes, please leave the DEVICE directive blank. For
# other UPS types, you must specify an appropriate port or address.
#
# UPSTYPE   DEVICE           Description
# apcsmart  COMx             Newer serial character device, appropriate for 
#                            SmartUPS models using a serial cable (not USB).
#                            Can be COM1, COM2, etc.
#
# usb       <BLANK>          Most new UPSes are USB. A blank DEVICE
#                            setting enables autodetection, which is
#                            the best choice for most installations.
#
# net       hostname:port    Network link to a master apcupsd through apcupsd's 
#                            Network Information Server. This is used if the
#                            UPS powering your computer is connected to a 
#                            different computer for monitoring.
#
# snmp      hostname:port:vendor:community
#                            SNMP network link to an SNMP-enabled UPS device.
#                            Hostname is the ip address or hostname of the UPS 
#                            on the network. Vendor can be can be "APC" or 
#                            "APC_NOTRAP". "APC_NOTRAP" will disable SNMP trap 
#                            catching; you usually want "APC". Port is usually 
#                            161. Community is usually "private".
#
# netsnmp   hostname:port:vendor:community
#                            OBSOLETE
#                            Same as SNMP above but requires use of the 
#                            net-snmp library. Unless you have a specific need
#                            for this old driver, you should use 'snmp' instead.
#
# dumb      COMx             Old serial character device for use with 
#                            simple-signaling UPSes. Can be COM1, COM2, etc.
#
# pcnet     ipaddr:username:passphrase
#                            PowerChute Network Shutdown protocol which can be 
#                            used as an alternative to SNMP with the AP9617 
#                            family of smart slot cards.ipaddr is the IP 
#                            address of the UPS mgmtcard. username and 
#                            passphrase are the credentials for which the card 
#                            has been configured.
#
UPSTYPE usb
DEVICE

# POLLTIME <int>
#   Interval (in seconds) at which apcupsd polls the UPS for status. This
#   setting applies both to directly-attached UPSes (UPSTYPE apcsmart, usb, 
#   dumb) and networked UPSes (UPSTYPE net, snmp). Lowering this setting
#   will improve apcupsd's responsiveness to certain events at the cost of
#   higher CPU utilization. The default of 60 is appropriate for most
#   situations.
#POLLTIME 60

# SCRIPTDIR <path to script directory>
#   Directory in which apccontrol and event scripts are located.
SCRIPTDIR c:\apcupsd\etc\apcupsd

# PWRFAILDIR <path to powerfail directory>
#   Directory in which to write the powerfail flag file. This file
#   is created when apcupsd initiates a system shutdown and is
#   checked in the OS halt scripts to determine if a killpower
#   (turning off UPS output power) is required.
PWRFAILDIR c:\apcupsd\etc\apcupsd

# NOLOGINDIR <path to nologin directory>
#   Directory in which to write the nologin file. The existence
#   of this flag file tells the OS to disallow new logins.
NOLOGINDIR c:\apcupsd\etc\apcupsd


#
# ======== Configuration parameters used during power failures ==========
#

# The ONBATTERYDELAY is the time in seconds from when a power failure
#   is detected until we react to it with an onbattery event.
#
#   This means that, apccontrol will be called with the powerout argument
#   immediately when a power failure is detected.  However, the
#   onbattery argument is passed to apccontrol only after the 
#   ONBATTERYDELAY time.  If you don't want to be annoyed by short
#   powerfailures, make sure that apccontrol powerout does nothing
#   i.e. comment out the wall.
ONBATTERYDELAY 6

# 
# Note: BATTERYLEVEL, MINUTES, and TIMEOUT work in conjunction, so
# the first that occurs will cause the initation of a shutdown.
#

# If during a power failure, the remaining battery percentage
# (as reported by the UPS) is below or equal to BATTERYLEVEL, 
# apcupsd will initiate a system shutdown.
BATTERYLEVEL 5

# If during a power failure, the remaining runtime in minutes 
# (as calculated internally by the UPS) is below or equal to MINUTES,
# apcupsd, will initiate a system shutdown.
MINUTES 3

# If during a power failure, the UPS has run on batteries for TIMEOUT
# many seconds or longer, apcupsd will initiate a system shutdown.
# A value of 0 disables this timer.
#
#  Note, if you have a Smart UPS, you will most likely want to disable
#    this timer by setting it to zero. That way, you UPS will continue
#    on batteries until either the % charge remaing drops to or below BATTERYLEVEL,
#    or the remaining battery runtime drops to or below MINUTES.  Of course,
#    if you are testing, setting this to 60 causes a quick system shutdown
#    if you pull the power plug.   
#  If you have an older dumb UPS, you will want to set this to less than
#    the time you know you can run on batteries.
TIMEOUT 0

#  Time in seconds between annoying users to signoff prior to
#  system shutdown. 0 disables.
ANNOY 300

# Initial delay after power failure before warning users to get
# off the system.
ANNOYDELAY 60

# The condition which determines when users are prevented from
# logging in during a power failure.
# NOLOGON <string> [ disable | timeout | percent | minutes | always ]
NOLOGON disable

# If KILLDELAY is non-zero, apcupsd will continue running after a
# shutdown has been requested, and after the specified time in
# seconds attempt to kill the power. This is for use on systems
# where apcupsd cannot regain control after a shutdown.
# KILLDELAY <seconds>  0 disables
KILLDELAY 0

#
# ==== Configuration statements for Network Information Server ====
#

# NETSERVER [ on | off ] on enables, off disables the network
#  information server. If netstatus is on, a network information
#  server process will be started for serving the STATUS and
#  EVENT data over the network (used by CGI programs).
NETSERVER on

# NISIP <dotted notation ip address>
#  IP address on which NIS server will listen for incoming connections.
#  This is useful if your server is multi-homed (has more than one
#  network interface and IP address). Default value is 0.0.0.0 which
#  means any incoming request will be serviced. Alternatively, you can
#  configure this setting to any specific IP address of your server and 
#  NIS will listen for connections only on that interface. Use the
#  loopback address (127.0.0.1) to accept connections only from the
#  local machine.
NISIP 0.0.0.0

# NISPORT <port> default is 3551 as registered with the IANA
#  port to use for sending STATUS and EVENTS data over the network.
#  It is not used unless NETSERVER is on. If you change this port,
#  you will need to change the corresponding value in the cgi directory
#  and rebuild the cgi programs.
NISPORT 3551

# If you want the last few EVENTS to be available over the network
# by the network information server, you must define an EVENTSFILE.
EVENTSFILE c:\apcupsd\etc\apcupsd\apcupsd.events

# EVENTSFILEMAX <kilobytes>
#  By default, the size of the EVENTSFILE will be not be allowed to exceed
#  10 kilobytes.  When the file grows beyond this limit, older EVENTS will
#  be removed from the beginning of the file (first in first out).  The
#  parameter EVENTSFILEMAX can be set to a different kilobyte value, or set
#  to zero to allow the EVENTSFILE to grow without limit.
EVENTSFILEMAX 10

#
# ========== Configuration statements used if sharing =============
#            a UPS with more than one machine

#
# Remaining items are for ShareUPS (APC expansion card) ONLY
#

# UPSCLASS [ standalone | shareslave | sharemaster ]
#   Normally standalone unless you share an UPS using an APC ShareUPS
#   card.
UPSCLASS standalone

# UPSMODE [ disable | share ]
#   Normally disable unless you share an UPS using an APC ShareUPS card.
UPSMODE disable

#
# ===== Configuration statements to control apcupsd system logging ========
#

# Time interval in seconds between writing the STATUS file; 0 disables
STATTIME 0

# Location of STATUS file (written to only if STATTIME is non-zero)
STATFILE c:\apcupsd\etc\apcupsd\apcupsd.status

# LOGSTATS [ on | off ] on enables, off disables
# Note! This generates a lot of output, so if         
#       you turn this on, be sure that the
#       file defined in syslog.conf for LOG_NOTICE is a named pipe.
#  You probably do not want this on.
LOGSTATS off

# Time interval in seconds between writing the DATA records to
#   the log file. 0 disables.
DATATIME 0

# FACILITY defines the logging facility (class) for logging to syslog. 
#          If not specified, it defaults to "daemon". This is useful 
#          if you want to separate the data logged by apcupsd from other
#          programs.
#FACILITY DAEMON

#
# ========== Configuration statements used in updating the UPS EPROM =========
#

#
# These statements are used only by apctest when choosing "Set EEPROM with conf
# file values" from the EEPROM menu. THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NO EFFECT ON APCUPSD.
#

# UPS name, max 8 characters 
#UPSNAME UPS_IDEN

# Battery date - 8 characters
#BATTDATE mm/dd/yy

# Sensitivity to line voltage quality (H cause faster transfer to batteries)  
# SENSITIVITY H M L        (default = H)
#SENSITIVITY H

# UPS delay after power return (seconds)
# WAKEUP 000 060 180 300   (default = 0)
#WAKEUP 60

# UPS Grace period after request to power off (seconds)
# SLEEP 020 180 300 600    (default = 20)
#SLEEP 180

# Low line voltage causing transfer to batteries
# The permitted values depend on your model as defined by last letter 
#  of FIRMWARE or APCMODEL. Some representative values are:
#    D 106 103 100 097
#    M 177 172 168 182
#    A 092 090 088 086
#    I 208 204 200 196     (default = 0 => not valid)
#LOTRANSFER  208

# High line voltage causing transfer to batteries
# The permitted values depend on your model as defined by last letter 
#  of FIRMWARE or APCMODEL. Some representative values are:
#    D 127 130 133 136
#    M 229 234 239 224
#    A 108 110 112 114
#    I 253 257 261 265     (default = 0 => not valid)
#HITRANSFER 253

# Battery charge needed to restore power
# RETURNCHARGE 00 15 50 90 (default = 15)
#RETURNCHARGE 15

# Alarm delay 
# 0 = zero delay after pwr fail, T = power fail + 30 sec, L = low battery, N = never
# BEEPSTATE 0 T L N        (default = 0)
#BEEPSTATE T

# Low battery warning delay in minutes
# LOWBATT 02 05 07 10      (default = 02)
#LOWBATT 2

# UPS Output voltage when running on batteries
# The permitted values depend on your model as defined by last letter 
#  of FIRMWARE or APCMODEL. Some representative values are:
#    D 115
#    M 208
#    A 100
#    I 230 240 220 225     (default = 0 => not valid)
#OUTPUTVOLTS 230

# Self test interval in hours 336=2 weeks, 168=1 week, ON=at power on
# SELFTEST 336 168 ON OFF  (default = 336)
#SELFTEST 336

apcupsd.conf

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The key changes that I used were...

 

Change UPSCABLE usb to UPSCABLE ether

Change UPSTYPE usb to UPSTYPE net

Change DEVICE to DEVICE TOWER:3551

 

Of course if your server is named differently then change TOWER to the name that you are using.

 

Then reboot the PC of course.  THe APCUPSD status icon should shange to show that the network connection is detected and you should then be able to right-click on it to interrogate the UPS status.

 

 

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What you may not know is that APCUPSD can also run on other machines on the same network as slaves of the instance that you already have running on the server (which is regarded as master).  That one is the master because it is the one monitoring the UPS. 

 

What you need to do is to install APCUPSD for Windows and then configure it as a slave such that it monitors the current master (setting the IP address or name of the server and port number - usually 3551). 

I am looking for some specs or an API to write my own tool/script (in python or C#) for doing this, but i can't find it so far. Any hints?

If i telnet into my unraid machine on that port i get nothing, so i think it is some custom IP protocol?

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It's worth shopping around for batteries - often you can find deals on "clone" battery packs much cheaper than the APC originals.  Good luck!

 

After doing some research, I'm wondering if I shouldn't be thinking about replacing my unit for one that outputs a pure sine wave for PFC power supplies?  Both my UnRAID tower and my PC have PFC supplies.  The only problem is that APC is almost triple the price of a competing Cyberpower model.  Do you know if the Cyberpower software will support UnRAID or if APCUPSD would still work with a non-APC UPS?!

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After doing some research, I'm wondering if I shouldn't be thinking about replacing my unit for one that outputs a pure sine wave for PFC power supplies?  Both my UnRAID tower and my PC have PFC supplies.  The only problem is that APC is almost triple the price of a competing Cyberpower model.  Do you know if the Cyberpower software will support UnRAID or if APCUPSD would still work with a non-APC UPS?!

 

Some info here http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=21278.0

 

I would stick to the APCUPSD software since it does have good cross-platform compatibilty and works well within unRAID.  There are non-APC units that will work with it.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have this working now and actually posted my process in the forums.  Here is the link http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=19418.msg178503#msg178503

 

It works like a champ

 

Ok, I think I have this running correctly.  I just wanted to confirm that you're not able to use the Powerchute software on the PC to connect to the UPS (which sort of makes sense since the UPS is attached via the USB cable to the UnRAID server as the master and the PC is the slave?  I do have the icon showing the power is coming from AC but my Powerchute icon has an exclamation point for the connection error.

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Ok, I think I have this running correctly.  I just wanted to confirm that you're not able to use the Powerchute software on the PC to connect to the UPS (which sort of makes sense since the UPS is attached via the USB cable to the UnRAID server as the master and the PC is the slave?  I do have the icon showing the power is coming from AC but my Powerchute icon has an exclamation point for the connection error.

 

As far as I know it would not be possible, nor would it make sense to run two UPS monitor / control programs.  Personally, I never even tried installing Powerchute on my PC.  And if the PC is connected directly to the UPS I have another config file that allows it to be the APCUPSD master.  As they say - it just works.

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In order to run my modem, router, network switch, VOIP phone and KVM box (to switch keyboard and monitor) from my UPS I use a regular multiple outlet mains block, suitably coloured and labelled fed from just one of the outlets on the UPS.  That allows me to plug in the standard wall-wart style power supplies generally used by such devices.  Most UPS units only have IEC outlets or where they have conventional mains outlets they do not allow sufficient space between sockets for wall-wart style power adapters.

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In order to run my modem, router, network switch, VOIP phone and KVM box (to switch keyboard and monitor) from my UPS I use a regular multiple outlet mains block, suitably coloured and labelled fed from just one of the outlets on the UPS.

Heh, I ran the outlet in my study to a iec male socket in the server room instead of the breaker box, and just used a standard PC power cord from the UPS to the iec socket. That way all the battery backups are in one room with the server, and I have a battery backup protected outlet without the bulk and noise in the main area of the house.
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... and I have a battery backup protected outlet without the bulk and noise in the main area of the house.

Just be sure you can only plug safe loads into it.  You wouldn't want a power drill, vacuum cleaner, hair dryer, etc killing your UPS...  :o

This UPS can handle it. It's a Powerware Prestige 9 2KVA, and the output is 16 Amps. It has no problem with laser printers, etc. Yes, it will handle a Dyson vacuum cleaner.
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  • 1 year later...

The key changes that I used were...

 

Change UPSCABLE usb to UPSCABLE ether

Change UPSTYPE usb to UPSTYPE net

Change DEVICE to DEVICE TOWER:3551

 

Of course if your server is named differently then change TOWER to the name that you are using.

 

Then reboot the PC of course.  THe APCUPSD status icon should shange to show that the network connection is detected and you should then be able to right-click on it to interrogate the UPS status.

 

Thanks a lot for this, saved me no end of work

 

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  • 4 years later...

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