What UPS


Dal1980

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10 hours ago, jonathanm said:

If you order the correct batteries, that's not an issue. F1 vs F2 terminals.

https://www.batterystuff.com/kb/articles/battery-articles/terminal-type-f1-f2-tabs.html

Good info, thanks.  I just know them as 3/16 and 1/4 inch types.

 

4 hours ago, Dal1980 said:

When I was a kid, the day I found out that pencil (AA) batteries were made up of a row of watch batteries turned my world up-side-down, I've never trusted the Matrix since ;)

They were probably not AA - you would not get the correct voltage.  AA are single cell.  But the smaller cylindrical types used for some remote control devices (older car entry, garage door remotes, etc) are commonly 12 volts are are made of a series stack of cells.

 

I've used Tayna 2 or 3 times, both for UPS and for other hobby stuff.  Never had any problems.

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Ah - AAA (aka "not the pencil batteries but the ones that look like them but are smaller" <- or at least that's what we used to call them in my house before anyone bothered to read the side of the battery lol)

 

Cool, I'm learning from every post on here :)

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This arrived today and I think I've completely underestimated the weight. My first clue was this unit arrived on a pallet and my confirmation was when I lifted it. I thinking that I'll probably need more than a couple of bolts on the front ears to secure this unit in place.

 

It's a U2 unit and it has some kind of lug on each side at the back which you should see in the pictures below. Any ideas for what I should do with my rack to fix this thing (rack is about 38 cm deep, outer shell of cabinet can take up to around 47cm).

 

 

 

 

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I've emailed a company and await their response. I realised that my rack being only 15" deep seems to be a big concern when I'm after rails for some reason.

 

Are these things universal as I see round threaded holes on ones on ebay?

 

Maybe I just get them static lip things instead although I will need some of them slide out rails for my rack PC as that is an awkward unit to get to the back of. 

 

Anyone got any magical links for cheap server rack kit like rails, cases etc?

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So after spending quite a few hours research I thought I'd do some giggling and sorting of the cabinet as 15" depth just seems to be something that isn't widely supported... or mentioned anywhere. After realising that the bracket wasn't set at it's widest that it could be I've managed to stretch this to 16" depth... which still isn't widely supported.. or mentioned anywhere. It seems 19" (or more) is the minimum depth on everything I'm looking at.

 

I thought I'd post some pictures in hopes someones has suggestions (polite ones🤞) or can highlight potential issues or concerns because clearly my exposure to cabinets and professional environments is minimal.

 

Not much room at the back at all. My IEC connections are hard up against the back of the cabinet and the front is about a millimetre from the glass door.

IMG_20200520_110743.thumb.jpg.9a4b4c61efb2fe7d6cc9097bc81ae037.jpg

 

Re-organised my cabinet and put the UPS on the bottom where the ground can take it's weight since I doubt I'll find any type of rails for this cabinet depth.

(picture is of shelves before moving things around)

IMG_20200520_091024.thumb.jpg.81235bf18846a004725a3bb0df1443e4.jpg

 

Managed to squeeze 1" out of that bracket that fixes from front to back posts, the cabinet wouldn't allow for 19" anyway so I think this exercise was pointless.

IMG_20200520_111121.thumb.jpg.1137fc1bd4c3743100f2b6628d4a7645.jpg

 

I lost a sprung notch on my drive bay that needed to be fastened with a C-clip so decided while I had this all out that I would fit that. Of course the C-clip fired itself off while I was trying to fix it and I couldn't find it. I had to bring the whole case into my kitchen and try find the thing... it ended up here grr nothing simple is there:

IMG_20200520_101126.thumb.jpg.89962d63dd197280b16dca3a843edf74.jpg

 

Anyway it's done, not sure if the test button on the front of the UPS allows me to simulate a power cut or not but I'll have a look to see if I can find a manual for this thing.

IMG_20200520_110823.thumb.jpg.69f48f8e67627199e0a70e7dfdf970b7.jpg

 

(ps I have a replacement for that talktalk router but I haven't bothered myself to swap it, it's currently just acting as a modem in bridge mode and the upright PC in the picture is my pfSense. I only wrote this so people wouldn't judge me for going with talktalk.. well I'm not with them any more and I will never go back, PlusNet now and they let me use my own equipment 😆)

 

pps: that UPS 'just' fits, there's no way I can actually even fix it in this cabinet now that I think about it. Why was this cabinet size made, nothing fits?

 

unRAID Settings look good?

Image3.thumb.jpg.8b153e1a12a293747ae19c75060e1f22.jpg

 

Edited by Dal1980
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42 minutes ago, ken-ji said:

AFAIK under 19" deep racks are mainly meant for networking/telecom switches and patch panels, and use either lighter and non-rack mount UPS; or POE to power.

I got this these racks given to me but to be honest I'd have probably bought the same size not knowing that. Good to find these things out but it's always at the most inconvenient or hardest way to learn. Live and learn I guess. 

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You are so lucky that UPS "fit" in the rack, surprise the mfg date on 2006, my one at 2010 and 26" depth.

 

2 hours ago, Dal1980 said:

not sure if the test button on the front of the UPS allows me to simulate a power cut

Yes, it put UPS to battery power, usually I test half years periodic, to play safe, unmount all storage or power off before test.

 

One thing you need to fix, your input voltage was 249v, it should be too high. And high_transfer was 253v that means UPS may frequently  switch between mains and battery, it won't good for UPS and battery. If you can't fix that, you may try setting high_transfer to a higher value ( if not max already )

Edited by Benson
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3 hours ago, Benson said:

One thing you need to fix, your input voltage was 249v, it should be too high. And high_transfer was 253v that means UPS may frequently  switch between mains and battery, it won't good for UPS and battery. If you can't fix that, you may try setting high_transfer to a higher value ( if not max already )

Any ideas how I go about fixing this? Is it a setting in unRAID or something physical?

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In my /etc/apcupsd/apcupsd.conf config file I see the HITRANSFER setting is not actually set so I'm presuming it's either 253 or 0 (I'm reading the comment as if it means it would be 0 if the setting was not supported or couldn't be changed).

 

# 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

Wasn't sure how to get the firmware via unRAID terminal but UPS settings in the GUI does show it as "FIRMWARE619.3.I USB FW:8.1"

Since that's an I then that makes sense as the other rows are completely different power ratings.... ok so if row (i) supports all of them values then I presume I'd just change the config to

#HITRANSFER 265

Correct?

 

I've also include the rest of the conf file if there's any other recommendations. (UPS APC manual http://apcupsd.org/manual/manual.html)

 

## apcupsd.conf v1.1 ##
# 
#  for apcupsd release 3.14.14 (31 May 2016) - slackware
#
# "apcupsd" POSIX config file

#
# Note that the apcupsd daemon must be restarted in order for changes to
# this configuration file to become active.
#

#
# ========= 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, 940-0625A, 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  /dev/tty**       Newer serial character device, appropriate for 
#                            SmartUPS models using a serial cable (not USB).
#
# 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      /dev/tty**       Old serial character device for use with 
#                            simple-signaling UPSes.
#
# pcnet     ipaddr:username:passphrase:port
#                            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 management card. username and 
#                            passphrase are the credentials for which the card 
#                            has been configured. port is the port number on 
#                            which to listen for messages from the UPS, normally 
#                            3052. If this parameter is empty or missing, the 
#                            default of 3052 will be used.
#
# modbus    /dev/tty**       Serial device for use with newest SmartUPS models
#                            supporting the MODBUS protocol.
# modbus    <BLANK>          Leave the DEVICE setting blank for MODBUS over USB
#                            or set to the serial number of the UPS to ensure 
#                            that apcupsd binds to that particular unit
#                            (helpful if you have more than one USB UPS).
#
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

# LOCKFILE <path to lockfile>
#   Path for device lock file. This is the directory into which the lock file
#   will be written. The directory must already exist; apcupsd will not create
#   it. The actual name of the lock file is computed from DEVICE.
#   Not used on Win32.
LOCKFILE /var/lock

# SCRIPTDIR <path to script directory>
#   Directory in which apccontrol and event scripts are located.
SCRIPTDIR /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 /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 /etc


#
# ======== 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 30

# 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 10

# 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 /var/log/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 /var/log/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

 

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10 hours ago, Dal1980 said:

#HITRANSFER 265

Correct?

If "#" in front of line, that means it just a remark, you could try remove "#" and restart APCUPSD.

If high_transfer value still no change, an easy way is temporary manage by official management software "PowerChute Business Edition" to config the value in persistent.

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Hmm after making the changes to 

HITRANSFER 265

(without the # comment character)

Saved in nano and went back in to check it had saved.

Tried both restarting the daemon via the gui (settings->UPS Settings->Start APC UPS Daemon: no, then applied, waited 20 seconds or so and changed it back to Start APC UPS Daemon: yes and hit apply)

 

/etc/rc.d/rc.apcupsd restart
Stopping apcupsd power management..
Starting apcupsd power management:  /sbin/apcupsd

Also tried this.

 

Both attempts have not changed this reporting "HITRANS 253.0 Volts" on the UPS Details

 

Anything else I can try?

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4 hours ago, Benson said:

If high_transfer value still no change, an easy way is temporary manage by official management software "PowerChute Business Edition" to config the value in persistent.

You should try this, the software are free.

 

or

 

Try "apctest" ( Stop APCUPSD daemon first )

https://linux.die.net/man/8/apctest

123.png.7af21988a6225cec2396e8d95ae3803e.png

 

or

 

Connect to COM port with suitable cable,  direct config the UPS. ( disconnect USB )

Edited by Benson
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1 hour ago, Benson said:

I see you set output voltage 230v, pls check with APCUPSD does output voltage same as input voltage, or 230v.

247.6 v 

Image4.thumb.jpg.a634857af1d8502ec2b8599feac64e4c.jpg

 

Edit: It's gone up to 250.5 but then came back down o 249.1

Edited by Dal1980
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Thanks so much 😀

 

After all of this I felt confident enough to push that test button (held for 5 seconds). It jumped over the battery and then presumably passed it's own test and went back to normal running.

 

Cool, well I learnt some stuff, thanks again 🤗

 

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