Beta test of new NUT UPS package

w0w

Can I request some features for package? (lowest priority in your list) :)
1. I want shutdown pfsense before battery get LOW condition, for example after running 5 minutes on battery, I have seen some implementations using internal nut scripting, but not for pfsense. Feature is very similar to what APCUPSD already have for years.
2. It would be good to kill UPS power, sending command to shutdown UPS, like APCUPSD doing it.

BTW I am using APCUPSD on windows for the same UPS.

johnabbot

@dennypage:

Several questions:

What messages are in the system log? Look for messages from upsd, upsmon, upsdrvctl, blazer*.

upsmon 73821 Poll UPS [sunpac] failed - Driver not connected
upsd 71207 Can't connect to UPS [sunpac] (blazer_usb-sunpac): No such file or directory

What are the contents of /usr/local/etc/nut/ups.conf and upsd.conf?

sunpac]
driver=blazer_usb
port=auto
langid_fix=0x4095
subdriver=krauler
productid=1234
vendorid=0925

LISTEN 127.0.0.1
LISTEN ::1

What nut processes are running? (ps -axuwww | grep ups)

ps -axuwww | grep ups
root 71207 0.0 0.0 20712 2368 - Ss 6:10PM 0:00.24 /usr/local/sbin/upsd -u root
root 72651 0.0 0.0 16612 2308 - Is 6:10PM 0:00.00 /usr/local/sbin/upsmon
uucp 73821 0.0 0.0 16612 2340 - S 6:10PM 0:00.20 /usr/local/sbin/upsmon
root 58229 0.0 0.0 18740 2240 0 S+ 9:44PM 0:00.00 grep ups

Does anything change if you restart the nut service via the nut status page or the services page?

No

Have you successfully tested this specific ups model with nut previously?

No

@johnabbot:

I'm running a generic asian ups with the following

(Various USB)
UPSilon 2000 software blazer_usb langid_fix=0x409

It installed perfectly, looks great, unfortunately it gives me

"Failed to retrieve status"

w0w

I have "tecnoware" UPS, some ERA series but not the same as listed in NUT supported devices. It have similar behavior to yours, johnabbot
Playing with driver options not helped, strange… but UPSilon 2000 works under windows environment at least.

dennypage

John, it looks like the usb information for the ups doesn't match. I would recommend dumping the usb information on the device and heading over to the NUT forums with it. You can dump the usb information with the following command on the console:

usbconfig dump_device_desc

dennypage

I've sent out beta 3. You do not need to remove the beta 1/2 package before installing the beta 3 package. Note that it is normal that the nut service is stopped during the install–you will need to restart the service after the install completes.

Again, thank you for all your help!

dennypage

w0w, with the beta 3 release you should be able to address the SNMP unreachable on startup issue issue. Add the following lines to ups.conf in the advanced section:

maxretry=60
retrydelay=60

This will result in a retry every minute for an hour. Be careful how you use this.

See the ups.conf man page for more information.

dennypage

I believe NUT already handles this. Have a look at the man page for the apcsmart driver. Pretty rich configuration options for power handling in there.

@w0w:

It would be good to kill UPS power, sending command to shutdown UPS, like APCUPSD doing it.

dennypage

Hey John, just wondering if you had a chance to dump the usb config to check the vendor and product id?

@johnabbot:

driver=blazer_usb
port=auto
langid_fix=0x4095
subdriver=krauler
productid=1234
vendorid=0925

w0w

dennypage
Thanks, looks like b3 works. UPS reconnects if no connection at startup or if it lost.

@dennypage:

I believe NUT already handles this. Have a look at the man page for the apcsmart driver. Pretty rich configuration options for power handling in there.

@w0w:

It would be good to kill UPS power, sending command to shutdown UPS, like APCUPSD doing it.

I don't use apcsmart driver, I use SNMP. I think I'll try

something like " /usr/local/ups/sbin/upsdrvctl shutdown" later to check if this works.

Thanks again about tip for ups.conf, shame on me. :)

timotl

w0w

If that works to kill the UPS, you can add this to rc.shutdown and it will send the command if NUT shuts down the system
I use the system patches package to keep it there across updates.


if (test -f /etc/killpower)
    then
        echo "Shutting down UPS power..."
        /usr/local/sbin/upsdrvctl shutdown
    fi

dennypage

Glad it works. No shame btw, it wasn't possible to do in beta 2. Both config and script changes were needed to support it.

@w0w:

Thanks, looks like b3 works. UPS reconnects if no connection at startup or if it lost.

Thanks again about tip for ups.conf, shame on me. :)

dennypage

Pull request created: https://github.com/pfsense/FreeBSD-ports/pull/155

johnabbot

@dennypage:

Hey John, just wondering if you had a chance to dump the usb config to check the vendor and product id?

Hi Denny,

There was an attempt to reverse engineer this back in 3013 that seems to have come to nothing.

http://lists.alioth.debian.org/pipermail/nut-upsdev/2013-January/006390.html

my understanding is they won't do any more work on supporting it. I've wasted enough time on getting it to work I think I will wait to see what works well with NUT on the pfsense and buy one of those.

John

@johnabbot:

driver=blazer_usb
port=auto
langid_fix=0x4095
subdriver=krauler
productid=1234
vendorid=0925

dennypage

If you are looking for a new UPS, pretty much anything that is supported by NUT 2.7.4 should work fine with the new nut package under pfSense. To ensure compatibility with NUT, it would be a good idea to choose a ups that operates with a publicly available protocol. You can find these on the NUT hardware compatibility list by selecting "***" as the minimum Support Level.

elemay

sorry, wrong thread

johnabbot

I got a Eaton 5E2000iUSB and it seems to work perfectly.

I still have to add the Nut Clients (debian servers & a NAS) and test it properly but looking good.

Thanks a million for your work, this is one thing about Pfsense that has been really bugging me.

dennypage

Thanks John. I'm glad it worked for you. I really appreciate your help with testing the new package.

q54e3w

let me know if I can test for you too.
Does this NUT update support reporting on enviromentals via an APC 9631 and sensors?

dennypage

The UPS Detail section on the Status page will display all variables reported by the NUT driver, however I don't personally know what variables are reported by the driver for the 9631 card.

If you would like a copy of the beta package, please pm me with an email address. Thanks.

@irj972:

Does this NUT update support reporting on enviromentals via an APC 9631 and sensors?

justmie

Does the Beta package properly support the connection to Apcupsd ? Now I use a workaround with the old package, but I'd rather use something that can be configured through the pfsense webui.