Gigabit Routers - which are you using?

[Joe L.]

All you need to do is plug the USB cabe from the UPS to the unRAID server.  It will do the rest as long as you have the powerdown package installed as well as the apcupsd package installed.  There reallly is very little you need to do, the default uses the smart UPS fetures to cleanly shut down when 5% of battery capacity remains, or when less than 3 minutes run-time remain.

 

You can also have the second/third/... PC running apc software listening on the LAN for instructions to power itself off.  This might work if the second PC is on a UPS that is "dumb"  (or on a laptop with built-in batteries)  the unRAID server apcupsd program will notify in an extended outage the others on the LAN to shut themselves down to save their batteries from full depletion.

 

Joe L.

 

Ok, I think I know why I'm confused!  Perhaps I don't have the correct kind of APC UPS for this function?  See the picture below:

 

Haven't quite mastered posting pics but I assume it has to do with the link not being standard html.  Anyway, no USB port on my model.  Just Cat 5e type (RJ-45?)

 

Yes, I know it looks like a RJ-45, and is the exact same connector usually used for LAN connections, but APC, in their infinite stupidity (and desire for you to use THEIR cable) is using it for a USB connection.

Yes, I know it looks like a RJ-45, the exact same connector usually used for LAN connections, but it is NOT.  It is an RJ-50 connector, with 10 pins instead of 8 used on a normal RJ-45 LAN connector.  They use the extra pins... you therefore cannot splice together a USB cable and an old LAN cable to make it work...

 

The cable that plugs into the "data" port has a standard USB cable connector on the other end.    My APC UPS is a slightly different model, but the same brain-damaged mis-use of a "standard" connector.

 

The manual for that UPS is here:  Look closely at figure 8, it shows it is actually a USB port using a RJ-45 connector..

http://www.apcmedia.com/salestools/ASTE-6Z7VAU_R0_EN.pdf

 

Joe L.

[spinbot]

Im kicking my ass for missing a deal earlier today for "APC Back-UPS ES 750 Master Control - $59.99, free shipping" .

 

I pay that much for the 550 model , when its on sale locally!

 

Would you say the 550 model would work with the software suggested above:

 

APC Back-UPS ES 550VA 8-Outlet "Green" UPS

 

    * Features: Estimated backup runtime: 3-65 minutes (actual time depends on power draw of connected items)

    * 330W/550VA output capacity

    * 8 outlets (4 with battery backup)

    * High-effeciency charger optimizes power use, meets the strictest global environmental standards and utilizes packaging made entirely from recycled materials

    * RJ-11 Modem/Fax/DSL protection

    * LED status indicators (replace battery and building wiring fault)

    * Low battery and overload alarms

    * 5' power cord

    * Safe system shutdown software

    * Up to $75,000 connected equipment warranty

 

I can get one of them from work for free ( well, in lieu of extra hours I have worked and would never get paid for anyways ) 

[betaman]

Would you say the 550 model would work with the software suggested above:

 

APC Back-UPS ES 550VA 8-Outlet "Green" UPS

 

I think if you only plug your UnRaid tower into it you should be fine.  I think the principal here on the size/output capacity of the backup is the length of time you need to shutdown.  In this case, you should probably have more than enough time to execute a shutdown before the backup loses power as well.  It has the data port so you should be good to go as long as you have the "proprietary" cable!  I'm wondering if my UPS XS 1300 should've come with the cable???

[Joe L.]

Im kicking my ass for missing a deal earlier today for "APC Back-UPS ES 750 Master Control - $59.99, free shipping" .

 

I pay that much for the 550 model , when its on sale locally!

 

Would you say the 550 model would work with the software suggested above:

 

APC Back-UPS ES 550VA 8-Outlet "Green" UPS

 

    * Features: Estimated backup runtime: 3-65 minutes (actual time depends on power draw of connected items)

    * 330W/550VA output capacity

    * 8 outlets (4 with battery backup)

    * High-effeciency charger optimizes power use, meets the strictest global environmental standards and utilizes packaging made entirely from recycled materials

    * RJ-11 Modem/Fax/DSL protection

    * LED status indicators (replace battery and building wiring fault)

    * Low battery and overload alarms

    * 5' power cord

    * Safe system shutdown software

    * Up to $75,000 connected equipment warranty

 

I can get one of them from work for free ( well, in lieu of extra hours I have worked and would never get paid for anyways ) 

It will really depend on how much power your server draws.

 

My older PCI based array, with 16 disks, draws a bit more power than some arrays.

 

The APC status shows this:

(from /sbin/apcaccess status)

 

APC      : 001,038,0937

DATE    : Wed Sep 30 22:34:39 EDT 2009

HOSTNAME : Tower

RELEASE  : 3.14.3

VERSION  : 3.14.3 (20 January 2008) slackware

UPSNAME  : Tower

CABLE    : Custom Cable Smart

MODEL    : Back-UPS ES 750

UPSMODE  : Stand Alone

STARTTIME: Wed Sep 30 22:33:17 EDT 2009

STATUS  : ONLINE

LINEV    : 120.0 Volts

LOADPCT  :  56.0 Percent Load Capacity

BCHARGE  : 100.0 Percent

TIMELEFT :  6.8 Minutes

MBATTCHG : 5 Percent

MINTIMEL : 3 Minutes

MAXTIME  : 0 Seconds

SENSE    : Medium

LOTRANS  : 092.0 Volts

HITRANS  : 139.0 Volts

ALARMDEL : Always

BATTV    : 13.8 Volts

LASTXFER : Low line voltage

NUMXFERS : 0

TONBATT  : 0 seconds

CUMONBATT: 0 seconds

XOFFBATT : N/A

SELFTEST : NO

STATFLAG : 0x07000008 Status Flag

MANDATE  : 2008-01-13

SERIALNO : 3B0802X63649 

BATTDATE : 2001-09-25

NOMINV  : 120 Volts

NOMBATTV :  12.0 Volts

NOMPOWER : 450 Watts

FIRMWARE : 841.I2 .D USB FW:I2

APCMODEL : Back-UPS ES 750

END APC  : Wed Sep 30 22:34:42 EDT 2009

 

Notice it shows it is at 56% of load capacity with all my disks spinning.  The estimated available runtime is less than 7 minutes.

Your 550 VA UPS might be perfect for a smaller array with fewer disks, but might give only a few minutes time on my array.

 

Joe L.

[Joe L.]

I'm wondering if my UPS XS 1300 should've come with the cable???

It should have.. unless they want to soak you for it.  My smaller APC 750 Back-UPS came with the cable.

[spinbot]

That damn cable caused some frustration with my wireless service team this week as they couldn't access a PDU and needed to reconfigure it.   Of course the cable was no where to be found.  I never even thought it might be in the UPS boxes I had on my shelf.   Oh well.... we just ordered another PDU ( we needed anyways ) and got the cable that way.

 

As a quick fix, the 550V model I can get will work.  If I see the better models on sale again, I will jump on them, now that I know any APC with that cable will work with the UnRaid.

[betaman]

That damn cable caused some frustration with my wireless service team this week as they couldn't access a PDU and needed to reconfigure it. Of course the cable was no where to be found. I never even thought it might be in the UPS boxes I had on my shelf. Oh well.... we just ordered another PDU ( we needed anyways ) and got the cable that way.

 

As a quick fix, the 550V model I can get will work. If I see the better models on sale again, I will jump on them, now that I know any APC with that cable will work with the UnRaid.

 

If you've got an "extra" cable lying around let me know!! I can't find one in the 5 boxes of UPS XS 1300VA's that I have! Could be my dad kept those and sold them on E-bay or something as the cheapest one I can find is about $20 USD!!

[Joe L.]

That damn cable caused some frustration with my wireless service team this week as they couldn't access a PDU and needed to reconfigure it.   Of course the cable was no where to be found.  I never even thought it might be in the UPS boxes I had on my shelf.   Oh well.... we just ordered another PDU ( we needed anyways ) and got the cable that way.

 

As a quick fix, the 550V model I can get will work.  If I see the better models on sale again, I will jump on them, now that I know any APC with that cable will work with the UnRaid.

 

If you've got an "extra" cable lying around let me know!!  I can't find one in the 5 boxes of UPS XS 1300VA's that I have!  Could be my dad kept those and sold them on E-bay or something as the cheapest one I can find is about $20 USD!!

Looks like it can be had for $9.99 on e-bay... with free shipping.

http://cgi.ebay.com/APC-RJ45-male-to-USB-male-UPS-Cable-940-0127B-NEW_W0QQitemZ230383020315QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item35a3e5e91b&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

 

Is siamedition (ebay seller) your father? ;D

 

[betaman]

Looks like it can be had for $9.99 on e-bay... with free shipping.

http://cgi.ebay.com/APC-RJ45-male-to-USB-male-UPS-Cable-940-0127B-NEW_W0QQitemZ230383020315QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item35a3e5e91b&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

 

Is siamedition (ebay seller) your father? ;D

Nah, he'd be the one selling for $50 and $10 shipping!

 

Thanks Joe! Not sure how I missed that one...I was already reading seller reviews of the $20 ones!!

 

EDIT: Ok, I figured out how I missed it! I was searching on the APC AP9827 Simple Signaling UPS Cable. Any reason to be concerned there's a difference?

[spinbot]

If you've got an "extra" cable lying around let me know!!  I can't find one in the 5 boxes of UPS XS 1300VA's that I have!  Could be my dad kept those and sold them on E-bay or something as the cheapest one I can find is about $20 USD!!

 

Seriously... don't buy anything online until I have a chance to look tomorrow.  I know I have at least 2 UPS' on my shelf ( part of my job is to keep inventory of parts for our wireless towers... I work for an ISP ).   I'll see what's in the boxes and get back to you tomorrow. 

 

************************************************************************************

Back on Topic... sorta......

 

Looking at 8-port gigbit switches, I have two choices at about $70CDN each:

D-Link DGS-1008D ( what concerns me some is that this model has been out for 4 years... usually models get changed and improved over that length of time ).

Linksys/Cisco

 

Linksys are:   Lifetime vs 5 year warranty

 

I didn't think the Cisco branded model had been around very long, but in reading the negative reviews at NewEgg.ca ( http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124027 , apparently it has.

Bought several of these units to help expand network connections in offices and conference rooms. All of these units have failed in less than a year. As soon as someone starts complaining about their network connections and they have one of these switches we don't even troubleshoot the problem we just swap it out with a netgear switch and the problem is solved.

 

Began failing after less than a year of ownership. Dropped connections, etc.

 

Got what I paid for, but not what the Cisco brand was known for.  This worked great at first. Then just like many other reviews it eventually works only poorly if at all. I have eliminated the possibility that the problem is anything else, but the switch.  Then reading on line it appears that I am not alone.  My next switch will not have the Cisco or Lynksys branding on it.

 

 

So it looks like Linksys used the Cisco name inappropriately.   Maybe I am better off with the D-Link.

[betaman]

That would be great if you happen to find a cable for me to try!  I'm a little nervous now about the pin out configuration between the two cables that I mentioned previously.

 

Too bad you can't get the Dlink one I have...it was painless to install (with the exception of my unmenu isssue).  I personally stay away from all thinks Linksys after having such bad experiences with their routers.  I think Dlink is the safest best for an economical solution.  If you start looking for a managed device then Cisco would be my choice.

[Joe L.]

That would be great if you happen to find a cable for me to try!  I'm a little nervous now about the pin out configuration between the two cables that I mentioned previously.

 

Too bad you can't get the Dlink one I have...it was painless to install (with the exception of my unmenu isssue).  I personally stay away from all thinks Linksys after having such bad experiences with their routers.  I think Dlink is the safest best for an economical solution.  If you start looking for a managed device then Cisco would be my choice.

I did a quick check on google, and it turns out I was wrong about the connector used on the APC units.

 

APC did NOT use an RJ-45 connector.  It is an RJ-50 connector on the APC UPS.  It has 10 conductors rather than 8 in the normal LAN connector.

The pinout is here: http://www.pinout.net/browse.php?conid=400

 

I verified this by looking at my cable to the unRAID server from the APC UPS.  I had to look close... as the size of the RJ-50 plug is nearly identical to the RJ-45 and the difference is only evident if you hold the two side-by-side. (or if you have better eyes than me )

 

Joe L.

[Kaygee]

I thought they were RJ45 as well...worth knowing.

 

Seems their docs people think so too...

 

 

[Joe L.]

I thought they were RJ45 as well...worth knowing.

 

Seems their docs people think so too...

 

 

Now that's funny. ;D

[betaman]

I did a quick check on google, and it turns out I was wrong about the connector used on the APC units.

 

APC did NOT use an RJ-45 connector.  It is an RJ-50 connector on the APC UPS.  It has 10 conductors rather than 8 in the normal LAN connector.

The pinout is here: http://www.pinout.net/browse.php?conid=400

 

I verified this by looking at my cable to the unRAID server from the APC UPS.   I had to look close... as the size of the RJ-50 plug is nearly identical to the RJ-45 and the difference is only evident if you hold the two side-by-side. (or if you have better eyes than me )

 

Joe L.

 

So do you think I could use the cable you found on E-bay?  I tried a standard ethernet cable and it seemed to fit in the slot so is there no difference between an RJ-45 and RJ-50 in terms fit?

[Joe L.]

I did a quick check on google, and it turns out I was wrong about the connector used on the APC units.

 

APC did NOT use an RJ-45 connector.  It is an RJ-50 connector on the APC UPS.  It has 10 conductors rather than 8 in the normal LAN connector.

The pinout is here: http://www.pinout.net/browse.php?conid=400

 

I verified this by looking at my cable to the unRAID server from the APC UPS.   I had to look close... as the size of the RJ-50 plug is nearly identical to the RJ-45 and the difference is only evident if you hold the two side-by-side. (or if you have better eyes than me )

 

Joe L.

 

So do you think I could use the cable you found on E-bay?  I tried a standard ethernet cable and it seemed to fit in the slot so is there no difference between an RJ-45 and RJ-50 in terms fit?

Correct... same width, but RJ50 has two more conductors, one on the left and right side of the standard 8.

 

http://www.kls-connector.com/KLS12-RJ45B-8P8C-398.html

vs.

http://www.kls-connector.com/KLS12-RJ46-10P10C-399.html

[betaman]

Correct... same width, but RJ50 has two more conductors, one on the left and right side of the standard 8.

 

http://www.kls-connector.com/KLS12-RJ45B-8P8C-398.html

vs.

http://www.kls-connector.com/KLS12-RJ46-10P10C-399.html

 

Sorry, just to confirm then, do you think there is a difference between APC cables AP9827 and the 940-0127B that would preclude me from using the 940-0127B?  It would seem APC is recommending the AP9827 for use with the APC Back-UPS XS 1300VA.

 

http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BX1300LCD

 

Under "options"

[betaman]

Seriously... don't buy anything online until I have a chance to look tomorrow.  I know I have at least 2 UPS' on my shelf ( part of my job is to keep inventory of parts for our wireless towers... I work for an ISP ).   I'll see what's in the boxes and get back to you tomorrow. 

 

Did you get my PM?  I got an e-mail of your PM but it wasn't in my inbox on the site.  Just wanted to confirm.  Let me know.

[spinbot]

This review is promising for it.  I wonder if it really is "fixed" now:

 

I found this comment on a board "Signifiant changes have occurred over the life of this switch. Version 1 had an internal fan and was quite noisy, albeit cool running. Version 2 & 2.1 eliminated the fan. However capacitor C251, sitting next to an internal heatsink is prone to failure after 6 - 8 months, resulting in dropped packets and link connections. Version 3.0 has solved this problem with a complete re-layout of the printed circuit board (PCB), with a redesign of the power/voltage regulation."

 

Here is a great review on how ver.3 seems to have improved over the fanless ver.2.

Cisco hasn't just changed one thing, they have completely redid the board.  It probably should have been given a new model# 

http://legitreviews.com/article/785/1/

 

First look at the difference circuit boards:

 

 

Then at the temperature from Version 2:

 

Then the temp. off version 3:

 

 

The other difference was the ver.2 consumed 4watts, however the ver.3 consumed only 3watts

 

The tester concluded their is a 25% drop in temperature and energy used on the new model.

 

"Legit Bottom Line: It seems that the Linksys SD2008 Gigabit version 2 switches have a heat issue that was addressed and improved upon by Linksys in the version 3.0 release."

 

 

 

 

Betaman:

Got and replied ... one UPS cable being mailed out this weekend.   Anything for a brother of the Secret UnRaid Consumer Kooky Elite Ring ( S.U.C.K.E.R.'s )   ( ya, I was grsping for works for "K" and "R" ) 

[spinbot]

Figures, no local stores sell the Linksys Switch.  Buying online may result in me getting the "version 2" of it, so I am hesitant to do that.

 

I ended up getting the D-Link DGS-1008D version: f1 (F1 has fast cars, so this version of the switch must be good) 

 

Time will tell.  I thought I was going to have to get a new cable to the server, but I am using the one that came with my PS3 and its actually Cat6.. thanks Sony

[betaman]

Figures, no local stores sell the Linksys Switch.  Buying online may result in me getting the "version 2" of it, so I am hesitant to do that.

 

I ended up getting the D-Link DGS-1008D version: f1 (F1 has fast cars, so this version of the switch must be good) 

 

Time will tell.  I thought I was going to have to get a new cable to the server, but I am using the one that came with my PS3 and its actually Cat6.. thanks Sony

 

I've got the DGS 2208.  Pretty sure I read somewhere that Cat 6 vs. Cat 5e was a big scam.  If you've got a short run, the cable won't make much of a difference.  I think there may be some marginal improvement in latency.  Well, start copying!  I did my first transfer of one BluRay movie (approx. 40GB) with a parity drive...wow, does it slow things down big time!  I think I was below USB 2.0 speeds (like 20MB/sec).

[vca]

I use a Netgear 8-port gigabit switch (model 5608) which all my gigabit devices connect to and a Linksys WRT54GL for the routing/firewall tasks which has been re-flashed to run the Tomato router software. The Netgear unit is pretty good, runs somewhat warm, but not hot, currently 95F in room that's about 78F.

 

Stephen