NUT package (2.8.0 and below)

kevindd992002 · Oct 19, 2021, 10:40 AM

@kevindd992002 said in NUT package:

Not sure what's up with this Eaton. @hda can you confirm what is the default low battery threshold for your Eaton UPS?

My EATON has battery low default 20%

Can set it in ups.conf with "lowbatt = 20"

Ok. Then mine is definitely weird at 60%. Without any kind of manual settings modification, does your Eaton UPS work as it should with NUT? Just wondering.

Gertjan · Oct 19, 2021, 10:58 AM

@kevindd992002 said in NUT package:

Then mine is definitely weird at 60%

How old is the battery ?
It can understand that an older battery hasn't the same discharge time. Ones the battey mode is activated, it will drain much faster. To compensate, this percentage would need to be higher.
Totally depleting a battery is a big no-no.

kevindd992002 · Oct 19, 2021, 12:19 PM

@gertjan said in NUT package:

@kevindd992002 said in NUT package:

Then mine is definitely weird at 60%

How old is the battery ?
It can understand that an older battery hasn't the same discharge time. Ones the battey mode is activated, it will drain much faster. To compensate, this percentage would need to be higher.
Totally depleting a battery is a big no-no.

2 years or so. I see. Is this generally true for all brands? How can I test for sure?

hda · Oct 19, 2021, 1:51 PM

@kevindd992002 said in NUT package:

Without any kind of manual settings modification, does your Eaton UPS work as it should with NUT?

UPS out-of-the-box & NUT is probably not suitable for anyone.
My EATON is doing fine as I want & tell it with NUT conf-files.
The simulation with FSD is comparable with realtime BATTERY-LOW behaviour.
Read my previous post about my setup and experience.

Again with offdelay(), NUT can claim/secure UPS battery-running-time
even when all boxes are already killed.

The offdelay countdown starts when NUT master (pfSense) finalises its shutdown (halting).
I think max. HOSTSYNC-time cannot override offdelay-time.

So you have to tune, match (offdelay_seconds) with (=)
(slowest_slave_shutdown_seconds - master(pfSense)_shutdown_seconds + your_safety_margin_seconds).
This time reservation must fit in the remaining time for lowbatt %.

N.B. if slave boxes cannot finalise with the standard/default offdelay-time (=15 ? =20 ?),
then your UPS will cut-out too early (or it already ran out of "juice" earlier).

dennypage · Oct 19, 2021, 2:21 PM

@kevindd992002 said in NUT package:

For all these parameters/variables, what does a -1 value mean? Disabled?

It's specifically for that variable. The value is actually sent to the UPS. Have to go look at the USB HID spec to understand the intent.

dennypage · Oct 19, 2021, 3:39 PM

@dennypage said in NUT package:

If you are using usb (usbhid-ups), I believe the answer is yes, they are reset every time. See the Extra Arguments section in the NUT documentation.

For entertainment value, I took a quick look... with usbhid it's not that the value is reset each time, it's that the value must be sent to the UPS to perform the shutdown.

Here's some relevant info from the spec:

DelayBeforeReboot
Writing this value immediately shuts down (i.e., turns off) the output for a period equal to the indicated number of seconds in DelayBeforeReboot, after which time the output is started. If the number of seconds required to perform the request is greater than the requested duration, then the requested shutdown and startup cycle shall be performed in the minimum time possible, but in no case shall this require more than the requested duration plus 60 seconds. If the startup should occur during a utility failure, the startup shall not occur until the utility power is restored.

When read, DelayBeforeReboot returns the number of seconds remaining in the countdown, or –1 if no countdown is in progress.

DelayBeforeStartup
Writing this value starts the output after the indicated number of seconds in DelayBeforeStartup. Sending this command with 0 causes the startup to occur immediately. Sending this command with –1 aborts the countdown. If the output is already on at the time the countdown reaches 0, nothing happens. On some systems, if the USB driver on the device side is restarted while a startup countdown is in effect, the countdown is aborted. If the countdown expires during a utility failure, the startup shall not occur until the utility power is restored. Writing this value overrides the effect of any DelayBeforeStartup countdown or DelayBeforeReboot countdown in progress.

When read, DelayBeforeStartup returns the number of seconds remaining in the countdown, or –1 if no countdown is in progress.

DelayBeforeShutdown
Writing this value shuts down (i.e., turns off) either the output after the indicated number of seconds, or sooner if the batteries become depleted. Sending this command with 0 causes the shutdown to occur immediately. Sending this command with –1 aborts the countdown. If the system is already in the desired state at the time the countdown reaches 0, there is no additional action (i.e. there is no additional action if the output is already off). On some systems, if the USB driver on the device side is restarted while a shutdown countdown is in effect, the countdown may be aborted. Writing this value overrides any DelayBeforeShutdown countdown already in effect.

When read, DelayBeforeShutdown will return the number of seconds remaining until shutdown, or –1 if no shutdown countdown is in effect.

mike123 · Nov 29, 2021, 2:15 PM

Recently I started getting several emails a minute "UPS myups battery is low". The UPS is a few years old so I replaced the battery and restarted the service.

I am still getting the error messages even though it shows 100% battery. I'm at a loss to debug this further, I've tried adding

battery.charge.low: 10

to the ups.conf and restarting but it seems to be getting ignored.

Here's the output from
upsc "myups"

battery.charge: 100.0
battery.charge.low: 15
battery.date: 2008-06-25
battery.runtime: 120.0
battery.runtime.low: 300
battery.voltage: 12.7
battery.voltage.nominal: 12.0
device.mfr: APC
device.model: Back-UPS ES 750 
device.serial: 123456  
device.type: ups
driver.name: apcupsd-ups
driver.parameter.pollinterval: 60
driver.parameter.port: 10.10.1.1
driver.parameter.synchronous: no
driver.version: 2.7.4
driver.version.internal: 0.04
input.sensitivity: M
input.transfer.high: 139.0
input.transfer.low: 92.0
input.transfer.reason: No transfers since turnon
input.voltage: 120.0
input.voltage.nominal: 120
ups.date: 2021-11-29
ups.firmware: 841.I2 .D USB FW:I2
ups.id: UPS
ups.load: 14.0
ups.mfr: APC
ups.model: Back-UPS ES 750 
ups.realpower.nominal: 450.0
ups.serial: 123456  
ups.status: OL LB
ups.test.result: NO
ups.time: 09:07:42

Can anyone provide any suggestions as to stopping the multiple email error messages?

Gertjan · Nov 29, 2021, 2:19 PM

@mike123 said in NUT package:

.... to stopping the multiple email error messages?

By telling your UPS that the battery has changed.
Dono how you can do this with NUT, but you could download the APC's MAC or,Windows client app, and use that to 'inform' the UPS that a battery change has occurred.

Btw : this isn't probably the optimal solution, but this what I have done in the past.

mike123 · Nov 29, 2021, 3:11 PM

@gertjan

Thanks, problem solved!

It never occurred to me that the UPS firmware had a battery "best before" date. The APC Powerchute software let me reset the battery date and my battery runtime magically went up from 120 to 1500. I guess it didn't want me to rely on what it thought was a 13 year old battery.

UmbraAtrox · Dec 3, 2021, 4:29 PM

I bought a PowerWalker VFI 1000T it uses the Winpower client on Windows which works fine, but on pfsense it doesn't really.

I don't know if the upsname is important, but its named PW1000 in Winpower so i used that.

i have tried multiple combinations of restarting, uninstalling and reinstalling the package, different usb Ports which have been suggested for other similar problems. Extra arguments norating, novendor, pollinterval=10. But none of this helped or even changed behaviour.

Can you help me with this?

dennypage · Dec 3, 2021, 4:44 PM

@umbraatrox said in NUT package:

PowerWalker VFI 1000T it uses the Winpower client on Windows which works fine, but on pfsense it doesn't really.

Here is my list of suggestions...

Have you rebooted since first plugging the usb connection in? Some of the USB kernel drivers require that. Do this first.
Try the usbhid driver and confirm that it does not work before trying any other driver.
Try the nutdrv_qx driver.
Try the blazer driver (the one that you have already tried).
Some devices create special device names in FreeBSD because they are actually serial emulators. You can generally discover the port by looking through the system log (dmesg).
Some of the more boutique drivers may require you to explicitly specify several "optional" parameters, like port, vendor it, product id, sub driver, etc. You have to figure this out by out by trial and error or contacting the vendor.
Ask for help on the NUT mailing list.

Gertjan · Dec 6, 2021, 7:31 AM

Also cross check the UPS model with this list : https://networkupstools.org/stable-hcl.html and tips / trucks you can find at the NUT support pages.

Gooberpatrol66 · Dec 13, 2021, 1:08 AM

I tried to enable SSL, and I got this:
Dec 12 16:45:58 pfsense upsd[12551]: upsd.conf: invalid directive CERTFILE /etc/ssl/nut_cert/upsd.pem
Dec 12 16:45:58 pfsense upsd[12551]: upsd.conf: invalid directive CERTREQUEST REQUIRE
Dec 12 16:45:58 pfsense upsd[12551]: upsd.conf: invalid directive DISABLE_WEAK_SSL true
I think this means SSL support was not compiled into the package.

dennypage · Dec 13, 2021, 1:08 AM

@gooberpatrol66 said in NUT package:

I think this means SSL support was not compiled into the package.

I believe you are correct, there is no certificate support.

WhiteTiger-IT · Jan 19, 2022, 7:03 PM

I installed the package, connected the USB socket to an APC Back-UPS BX2200MI, in the console I see that it recognizes it, but then in Services/UPS/Status I see:
"Failed to retrieve status"

dennypage · Jan 19, 2022, 8:29 PM

@whitetiger-it Generally this is a permissions problem with initial USB install. Addressed by Rebooting or by unplugging and re-plugging the USB.

WhiteTiger-IT · Jan 20, 2022, 9:28 AM

@dennypage
Perfect, now it shows.
Thank you.

How can I now manage the shutdown of pfSense and the PCs-Servers in the network?
I should be able to define minutes and load limits, also in the clients installed on the PCs-Servers I should be able to define parameters to synchronize with the NUT package.

dennypage · Jan 20, 2022, 4:50 PM

@whitetiger-it said in NUT package:

How can I now manage the shutdown of pfSense and the PCs-Servers in the network?
I should be able to define minutes and load limits, also in the clients installed on the PCs-Servers I should be able to define parameters to synchronize with the NUT package.

NUT will manage the shutdown for you. Unless you are familiar with NUT itself, and have a specific need to fix something that isn't working, I would recommend sticking with the default NUT parameters.

Remote access options are detailed in the second post.

whoami TM · Feb 17, 2022, 1:38 AM

I have been defeated by my recently acquired Tripplite Smart1500LCD. I put in the work.... My OCD is not about let me give up until my Amazon return window closes. I've read all 850 some posts of this thread multiple times. I've read everything google has thrown at me regarding NUT and Smart1500LCD. I've read NUT mailing list... Github... Literally everything I can find that's relevant.

The problem I'm having is I cant get the UPS to trigger pfSense to shutdown unless I use ignorelb override.battery.charge.low = 20 or override.battery.runtime.low = 300 or I use the upsmon -c fsd command. When those commands initiate a shutdown, pfSense starts shutting down but triggers the UPS to shut down too fast before pfSense has a chance to fully shutdown. Then the UPS powers back up the outlets after about 20-30 seconds no matter if the main is on/off or no matter how much battery the UPS has left. Its as if the UPS isnt giving pfSense any shutdown command. The Smart1500LCD default battery.charge.low is suppose to be 50%. Its basically a dump UPS... Rides all the way to the battery dies. I even ran it down past 0%, after about an hour on 0% it shut down pfSense then started back up again pushing my switch until I turned main back on. I can not get offdelay=60 to work at all.

There's a video on YouTube where someone with the same Smart1500LCD UPS got NUT working on debian. I've tried every setting in this thread with no luck. The settings I currently have below are the same settings from the YouTube vid. The video, and NUT mailing list say there is a issue with this UPS constantly disconnecting due to the USB and there is a patch for it that goes in /etc/udev/rules.d but when I look at dmesg I don't have a bunch of disconnects every 10 seconds like they are talking about. I only get a few when NUT starts then none after. Example below.

igb0: link state changed to UP
igb0.50: link state changed to UP
igb0.20: link state changed to UP
igb0.40: link state changed to UP
igb0.10: link state changed to UP
igb0.60: link state changed to UP
ugen0.3: <Tripp Lite Tripp Lite UPS> at usbus0 (disconnected)
uhid0: at uhub1, port 1, addr 3 (disconnected)
uhid0: detached
igb1: link state changed to UP
ugen0.3: <Tripp Lite Tripp Lite UPS> at usbus0
uhid0 on uhub1
uhid0: <Tripp Lite Tripp Lite UPS, class 0/0, rev 1.10/0.09, addr 3> on usbus0
tun1: changing name to 'ovpns1'
ovpns1: link state changed to UP
pflog0: promiscuous mode enabled
ugen0.3: <Tripp Lite Tripp Lite UPS> at usbus0 (disconnected)
uhid0: at uhub1, port 1, addr 3 (disconnected)
uhid0: detached
ugen0.3: <Tripp Lite Tripp Lite UPS> at usbus0
uhid0 on uhub1
uhid0: <Tripp Lite Tripp Lite UPS, class 0/0, rev 1.10/0.09, addr 3> on usbus0
ugen0.3: <Tripp Lite Tripp Lite UPS> at usbus0 (disconnected)
uhid0: at uhub1, port 1, addr 3 (disconnected)
uhid0: detached
ugen0.3: <Tripp Lite Tripp Lite UPS> at usbus0
uhid0 on uhub1
uhid0: <Tripp Lite Tripp Lite UPS, class 0/0, rev 1.10/0.09, addr 3> on usbus0
ugen0.3: <Tripp Lite Tripp Lite UPS> at usbus0 (disconnected)
uhid0:
at uhub1, port 1, addr 3 (disconnected)
uhid0: detached
ugen0.3: <Tripp Lite Tripp Lite UPS> at usbus0
uhid0 on uhub1
uhid0: <Tripp Lite Tripp Lite UPS, class 0/0, rev 1.10/0.09, addr 3> on usbus0
igb1: promiscuous mode enabled
igb0: promiscuous mode enabled
igb0.10: promiscuous mode enabled
igb0.20: promiscuous mode enabled
igb0.40: promiscuous mode enabled
igb0.50: promiscuous mode enabled
igb0.60: promiscuous mode enabled

cat /usr/local/etc/nut/ups.conf

pollinterval=1
maxretry=3

[tripplite]
driver=usbhid-ups
port=auto
vendorid=09ae
productid=2012
offdelay=60

cat /usr/local/etc/nut/upsmon.conf

MONITOR tripplite 1 local-monitor 2bf97a0eaa539f360a90 master
SHUTDOWNCMD "/sbin/shutdown -p +0"
POWERDOWNFLAG /etc/killpower
NOTIFYCMD /usr/local/pkg/nut/nut_email.php
NOTIFYFLAG ONLINE   SYSLOG+WALL+EXEC
NOTIFYFLAG ONBATT   SYSLOG+WALL+EXEC
NOTIFYFLAG LOWBATT  SYSLOG+WALL+EXEC
NOTIFYFLAG FSD	  SYSLOG+WALL+EXEC
NOTIFYFLAG COMMOK   SYSLOG+WALL+EXEC
NOTIFYFLAG COMMBAD  SYSLOG+WALL+EXEC
NOTIFYFLAG SHUTDOWN SYSLOG+WALL+EXEC
NOTIFYFLAG REPLBATT SYSLOG+WALL+EXEC
NOTIFYFLAG NOCOMM   SYSLOG+WALL+EXEC
NOTIFYFLAG NOPARENT SYSLOG+WALL+EXEC


RUN_AS_USER root

cat /usr/local/etc/nut/upsd.conf

LISTEN 127.0.0.1
LISTEN ::1

upscmd -l tripplite

Instant commands supported on UPS [tripplite]:

beeper.disable - Disable the UPS beeper
beeper.enable - Enable the UPS beeper
beeper.mute - Temporarily mute the UPS beeper
beeper.off - Obsolete (use beeper.disable or beeper.mute)
beeper.on - Obsolete (use beeper.enable)
load.off - Turn off the load immediately
load.off.delay - Turn off the load with a delay (seconds)
reset.watchdog - Reset watchdog timer
shutdown.reboot - Shut down the load briefly while rebooting the UPS
shutdown.stop - Stop a shutdown in progress
test.battery.start.deep - Start a deep battery test
test.battery.start.quick - Start a quick battery test
test.battery.stop - Stop the battery test

below ups.delay.shutdown reports 60 with setting offdelay=60 for about 20mins.

then ups.delay.shutdown reports 20 with setting offdelay=60 after 20mins or so.

Please help!

dennypage · Feb 17, 2022, 1:44 AM

@whoami-tm

Coincidentally, that is the exact UPS I used to initially develop the pfSense NUT package. It has been extensively tested.

I still have a few of them around, but none are connected to NUT at the moment, so I'm going off old memory...

First recommendation, get rid of everything you have in the Extra Arguments to driver section, and everything in the Advanced section. You don't need or want that stuff in the nut config.

Several of the things you are trying to set in the configuration need to be set in the UPS itself via the upsrw command:

battery.charge.low
ups.delay.shutdown
ups.delay.start

Use upsrw without the -s option to see the list of variables available in your UPS.