[SOLVED] Recommended ups to prevent server from burning up

lpallard · 06-02-2011, 12:18 PM

Hello, I think this is the right place to ask my question so I'll just go ahead.

Where I live we have frequent power anomalies such as outage and why I would describe as power resets resulting in power being cut and restored in a very fast delay, resulting in all electrical equipment in my house to reset and all computers to improperly shutdown and reboot. I don't know how many times my beloved Linux server was reset like this and every time reiser fs has to replay transactions and so far I've been lucky I did not lose any hdd or other components but I think this will happen sooner than later.

What I am searching for is a device that would protect my server, scanner, router and a few other small devices from power surges and anomalies that would result in hardware and equipment damage. What I also want from that device is the capability to continue powering the devices until they properly shutdown. I think a ups is what I am looking for but all models that I've seen are priced $400 up and that's over my budget.

What I also want is the capability to announce to the server that the device is running on batteries and that the server can initiate it's normal shutdown procedure.

Anybody has recommendations?

Thanks!

frieza · 06-02-2011, 12:31 PM

well before you select a UPS, I would calculate the total wattage drawn by the devices in question, then figure out how long you need to keep the machines running off batteries and make a decision based on that.
second, devices like scanners probably don't really need to be on the ups, since you probably will not be using them when the power is off.
Ultimately though it comes down to how much is the protection worth to you.Try squirreling away a few dollars here and there (as much as your budget will allow) until you have enough saved up to purchase the ups you actually need instead of letting a short term budget force you into a potentially dangerous compromise.

Soadyheid · 06-03-2011, 10:30 AM

As frieza, You need to find out the load that the UPS is supporting.
Check out:

http://buy.apc.com/commerce/storefro...=5&segmentID=1

APC UPS' are pretty good in my estimation though I don't know if they've got Linux based control software. They should have. If the power loss is great enough the UPS activates the system shutdown (Usually when the battery becomes depleted) Normal autonomy is around 10 minutes which, if the power has been missing for this long, the UPS initiates a controlled shutdown via the agent running on the system. The time is obviously dependant on the load being drawn. Adding a UPS to your power configuration will basically even out any power spikes, glitches, lags, etc, and should provide a much more stable environment for your server.
You should be able to select APC's web page for your local country, I'm not entirely sure that the Milky Way is listed, a slightly finer resolution is perhaps required!

Play Bonny!

H_TeXMeX_H · 06-03-2011, 10:52 AM

Do be careful tho, because this is what I have:
http://www.mustek.de/powermust-1400-lcd-493/
Notice that it says PowerMust 1400 LCD and 1400 VA in big letters on the front. However, this thing will NEVER power 1400 watts of equipment, because if you look carefully on the box or online it's actually rated at 840 W. This is the real number you should be looking at. My psu is 650 W and the rest of my stuff doesn't use much more than that, so this is enough for me.

The 1400 VA is only useful to indicate that you cannot link these in series, because internal resistance is too high.

lpallard · 06-03-2011, 11:38 AM

I think you guys are right. My local computer store carries the apc br1500g stock for $199. It is capable of 1500va which at 120v gives 12.5a which should be more than enough. Other thing is 865w capacity which if I take into consideration my server's 450w and my router's 50w rating I still have plenty of space to expand my systems.

The only thing I'm not sure is the USB connectivity to have annunciation of battery operation... The apc website says that it comes with USB cable but I can't find the port looking at the pics. I guess I'll have to read the packaging box carefully and ask he salesman.

jefro · 06-03-2011, 04:47 PM

I tend to like pure sine output but many systems can run on modified sine. You'd be surprised how many system fail modified sine.

I also almost never put a monitor or other junk on them but if your need is spot power then it should be on it.

SaintDanBert · 06-03-2011, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lpallard

...
What I am searching for is a device that would protect my server, scanner, router and a few other small devices from power surges and anomalies that would result in hardware and equipment damage.

This is the role of an Un-interruptible Power Supply (UPS) and Surge Suppressor.

Another source of "damage" is over-temperature in the room or cabinet where the systems
stand while running. When the room gets too hot, any in-box cooling cannot work well and the hardware cooks itself. I know a cheap protection if you are willing to tinker a bit but it is too complex to publish in this thread ... unless folks clamor to hear it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lpallard

... What I also want from that device is the capability to continue powering the devices until they properly shutdown. I think a ups is what I am looking for but all models that I've seen are priced $400 up and that's over my budget.

A UPS has batteries that provide DC power to an inverter. The inverter makes AC power.
AC power operates your equipment. Devices are rated in "watts" or "volt-amps". Most firms suggest that you run a UPS well below 90% of capacity.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lpallard

What I also want is the capability to announce to the server that the device is running on batteries and that the server can initiate it's normal shutdown procedure.

Anybody has recommendations?

Most of the larger UPS boxes have a "data cable" (typically USB but sometimes COM-port serial). The UPS signals a connected host about status changes: battery on, AC off, discharge percent, battery low, battery extremely low, etc.

I have used low end equipment (500-2000 watts) by APC with good results.
If you need large equipment (3-5 KVA or more) you are out of my league.
The one place I worked that had large equipment used a 25 KVA natural gas
motor generator.

Good Luck,
~~~ 0;-Dan

lpallard · 06-04-2011, 08:37 PM

OK so I've got the BR1500G from APC running and installed apcupsd on my server.

Ive installed the daemon using a slackware package (txz) and went fine. I also configured the daemon via /etc/apcupsd/apcupsd.conf and have this as my options:

Code:

## apcupsd.conf v1.1 ##
# 
#  for apcupsd release 3.14.8 (16 January 2010) - slackware
#
# "apcupsd" POSIX config file

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

# UPSNAME XXXXX
#   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 BR1500G

# 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  /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
#                            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 /dev/usb/hiddev0

# 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 30

# LOCKFILE <path to lockfile>
#   Path for device lock file. 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 5

# 
# 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 5

# 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 off

# 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

I've also followed the instructions of the apcupsd manual available at http://www.apcupsd.com/manual/manual...ss-status-test especially the testing section and until the Monitoring and Tuning your UPS section all went fine. I changed the timeout parameter in the .conf file and tried to reload the daemon using

Code:

/etc/rc.d/rc.apcupsd stop

and

Code:

/etc/rc.d/rc.apcupsd start

but I got:

Code:

bash-4.1# /etc/rc.d/rc.apcupsd stop
Stopping apcupsd power management../etc/rc.d/rc.apcupsd: line 33: kill: (5456) - No such process
  Failed.

and the apcupsd was running at PID 2401... While it was running I looked in the /var/run/apcupsd.pid and it contained only the number 5456, probably the reference above... No process 5456 were running when I checked with ps -A

So whats going on with this process ID stuff??

lpallard · 06-20-2011, 11:36 AM

Bump !?

Nobody? Its running fine now (dont ask me why) but I really want to prevent this problem from happening, at the end of the day, this UPS is protecting my equipment, I want to be aware of events so the daemon has to run flawlessly.

H_TeXMeX_H · 06-20-2011, 12:08 PM

Well, post that rc script, have you changed it ?

lpallard · 06-21-2011, 08:41 PM

Here you go! rc.apcupsd: (I havent changed a thing in it!)

Code:

#! /bin/sh
#
# apcupsd      This shell script takes care of starting and stopping
#	       the apcupsd UPS monitoring daemon.
#
# chkconfig: 2345 20 99
# description: apcupsd monitors power and takes action if necessary
#
APCPID=/var/run/apcupsd.pid
DISTVER="Slackware 13.1.0"

return="  Done."


case "$1" in
    start)
	rm -f /etc/apcupsd/powerfail
	rm -f /etc/nologin
	echo -n "Starting apcupsd power management.."
	if [ -f ${APCPID} ]; then
		return="  Already running."
	else
		/sbin/apcupsd && touch /var/lock/subsys/apcupsd \
		|| return="  Failed."
	fi

	echo -e "$return"
    ;;
    stop)
	echo -n "Stopping apcupsd power management.."
	if [ -f ${APCPID} ]; then
		THEPID=`cat ${APCPID}`
		kill ${THEPID} || return="  Failed."
		rm -f ${APCPID}
	else
		return="  Nothing to stop."
	fi
	rm -f /var/lock/subsys/apcupsd
	echo -e "$return"
    ;;
    restart)
       $0 stop
       $0 start
    ;;
    status)
       /sbin/apcaccess status
    ;;
    *)
    echo "Usage: $0 {start|stop|restart|status}"
    exit 1
esac

exit 0

H_TeXMeX_H · 06-22-2011, 09:27 AM

I think the script did what it was supposed to, but it was trying to kill the wrong process because '/var/run/apcupsd.pid' contained the wrong process number, for some reason.

Honestly, I don't see why they don't use 'killall apcupsd' to kill all running apcupsd.

lpallard · 06-22-2011, 10:17 AM

Quote:

it was trying to kill the wrong process because '/var/run/apcupsd.pid' contained the wrong process number, for some reason

.

Yeah I notice the same thing... What can cause processes changing numbers like that? Afaik processes have to be terminated and relaunched to get a new PID??

Quote:

Honestly, I don't see why they don't use 'killall apcupsd' to kill all running apcupsd

.

Using what they do, can this lead to problems or it will just run fine?

H_TeXMeX_H · 06-22-2011, 12:05 PM

The script assumes that the process number is written by apcupsd into '/var/run/apcupsd.pid', maybe apcupsd didn't really do that. Or maybe someone started apcupsd without checking if another one was already running (the script checks this), and it overwrote the pid file, and the original could not be killed because its PID was lost.

I cannot say it won't lead to problems, but all that happens is that apcupsd is not killed properly. If you want to kill all apcupsd use 'killall apcupsd'.

lpallard · 06-29-2011, 11:21 AM

On the same topic, now all is running fine except a small "glitch" with the email feature.

If I unplug, simulate or have a real power outage where I will hear the "beep-beep-beep" from the UPS, I will get an email telling me that there is a power outage, and then I'll get another email whenever power is retored. Good.

Now the problem is with small power fluctuations. I dont know how to describe these but once in a while, I will hear the UPS switch to batteries and if I look in the logs, I see something like:

Code:

Sun Jan 27 11:46:45 Power failure.
Sun Jan 27 11:46:51 Running on UPS batteries.
Sun Jan 27 11:46:58 Power is restored.  Running on mains.

I believe this happens when the voltage drops below a certain point. The problem is that I can hear it switching to batteries, the log says so, but I dont get an email when that happens.

Is there a "sensitivity" parameter or a special argument to make it work?