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    NUT package (2.8.0 and below)

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved UPS Tools
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    • dennypageD
      dennypage @Sir_SSV
      last edited by

      @Sir_SSV You're welcome.

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      • T
        turboturtle
        last edited by

        I have an APC BX1000M that I recently connected to my pfsense box, running on an apu2c4, via usb cable. NUT is set to use usbhid as the driver.

        apcupsd detects the UPS straight away and can poll it on demand, however NUT is not able to poll the device it seems. The logged messages apparently show that a login does occur, but then connection is immediately lost.

        Jun 17 18:51:42	upsd	37544	Startup successful
        Jun 17 18:51:44	upsd	37544	User local-monitor@::1 logged into UPS [apcups]
        Jun 17 18:51:44	upsmon	37226	Poll UPS [apcups] failed - Driver not connected
        Jun 17 18:51:44	upsmon	37226	Communications with UPS apcups lost
        Jun 17 18:51:49	upsmon	37226	Poll UPS [apcups] failed - Driver not connected
        Jun 17 18:51:49	upsmon	37226	UPS apcups is unavailable
        

        I'm hoping this is a simple case of me overlooking something obvious, as so far my reading of this topic, the manual, and Google-fu has not gotten me anywhere, so any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

        dennypageD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • dennypageD
          dennypage @turboturtle
          last edited by

          @turboturtle The "login" is the upsmon process connecting to upsd. It doesn't indicate anything about the actual UPS driver.

          You are missing log entries for the driver itself. Look for entries matching "usbhid-ups" which is the NUT device driver for USB.

          To address the most commonly experienced issue... if this is a fresh NUT install, you will need to either disconnect/reconnect the USB connection or reboot pfSense to have correct permissions on the USB port.

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          • T
            turboturtle @dennypage
            last edited by

            @dennypage reboot did it, thanks!

            Interesting to note however, there were no log messages about the driver itself - nothing matched "usbhid-ups".

            dennypageD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • dennypageD
              dennypage @turboturtle
              last edited by

              @turboturtle said in NUT package:

              Interesting to note however, there were no log messages about the driver itself - nothing matched "usbhid-ups".

              The log entries may have rolled off. The default log retention is somewhat small.

              Glad it's working for you.

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              • N
                newberger
                last edited by

                Hi - I have a Cyberpower OR700, which I previously had on my pfSense system using USB. I added the RMCARD205 and am now trying to connect to NUT via SNMP. My initial setup in the NUT menu only specifies the UPS IP (set static in the pfSense DHCP) UPS Type (Remote SNMP) and UPS name.

                pfSense/NUT does see the UPS and reports the status, but the amount of data is much less than when I connected via USB.

                I am using SNMPv1, although the UPS has SNMPv3 available. I'm not sure if that would make any difference?

                dennypageD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • dennypageD
                  dennypage @newberger
                  last edited by

                  @newberger A quick google search for "NUT RMCARD205" finds this in the NUT issues list: Support CyberPower RMCARD205

                  N 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • N
                    newberger @dennypage
                    last edited by

                    @dennypage, thanks. I googled many topics around NUT SNMP setup, but not that specific query on this card. In reading it, it appears that more information is available if the ‘private’ SNMP community is used, but I can’t tell if it’s working correctly. Also, I had seen other RMCARDs are supported and was unsure how compatible this card would be with that support. Are you saying this card isn’t going to work yet?

                    dennypageD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • dennypageD
                      dennypage @newberger
                      last edited by

                      @newberger said in NUT package:

                      Also, I had seen other RMCARDs are supported and was unsure how compatible this card would be with that support. Are you saying this card isn’t going to work yet?

                      You'll have to read through the NUT issue to understand what currently works and what will work better after direct support is added.

                      The issue seems pretty active, and they appear to be looking for help... nudge.
                      😀

                      N 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • N
                        newberger @dennypage
                        last edited by

                        @dennypage Thanks - I'll follow the thread and help out, if possible.

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                        • U
                          uk_dave
                          last edited by uk_dave

                          Hi everyone, sorry my first post here is an ask for help but.. well I need some help!
                          I have a slightly older APC Back-UPS 1500 RS UPS connect via a USB cable and have managed to get the basics of NUT working as a server (on pfSense) to shutdown itself as well as a remote FreeNAS and Ubuntu machine.

                          My problem is that when power is restored, as soon as the host that talks to the UPS starts to boot up (i.e. immediately after going through POST) it triggers the UPS to go on battery (despite being plugged into the wall with AC power on) which it then stays on until the battery dies. Clearly this is not great for any machine attached that started at the same time as the firewall came up so trying to resolve this for a clean startup. If I leave the system to do it's thing it will sit there cycling; power up, trigger UPS to go on battery, continue booting, battery dies, abrupt shutdown, power up, rinse and repeat.

                          I've just moved the UPS from my rack to my study to do some more testing and I'm experiencing the same behaviour running the NUT master on a ubuntu test machine.. seems unlikely now it's anything specific to the pfSense iteration.

                          I'm hoping someone with experience configuring NUT and UPS's here might know what the issue since it seems like either a driver config option I've not set or something to do with startup / shutdown / init scrips etc that is a whole other kettle of fish to get my head around! In desperation I installed the windows utility (on a windows machine) to see if there were any behaviour options I could set on the UPS but there was nothing.

                          Again, apologies this isn't really a pfSense specific issue (other than ultimately I want the UPS managed by it). Alternatively if anyone could just give me the keywords to search on google for the behaviour I'm trying to stop that would be a great start!

                          Thanks,
                          Dave

                          Edit: Just tried apcupsd which I think works as I would expect so I guess I have a partial workaround but will need to see if I can get that to notify NUT on FreeNAS.. but that's definitely outside the scope of this forum!

                          dennypageD 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • dennypageD
                            dennypage @uk_dave
                            last edited by

                            @uk_dave A few questions:

                            • Are you using running the current version of pfSense (2.4.5)?
                            • Are you using the current version of the nut package (2.7.4_7)?
                            • Do you have anything in Advanced Settings? In particular, any of these?
                              • ignorelb
                              • override.battery.charge.warning
                              • override.battery.charge.low
                              • override.battery.runtime.low
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                            • U
                              uk_dave @dennypage
                              last edited by

                              @dennypage Thanks for replying,

                              Running 2.4.5-RELEASE-p1 (amd64) of pfSense and 2.7.4_7 of the NUT package.

                              I'm currently doing this testing on a fresh install of pfSense, all I had added to the config was:

                              USB Type: Local USB
                              UPS Name: ups
                              Driver: usbhid
                              ups.users: [remoteuser]
                              password = upsmon
                              upsmon slave

                              Here's my UPS: BR1500GI

                              I have disabled the master / slave behaviour of the UPS so all 5x sockets on the battery backup side should be in the 'Battery backup outlets with surge protection only' mode. I was assuming that NUT tells the UPS to shutdown and therefore having 5x sockets I can use rather than 3x was preferable.

                              Thanks,
                              Dave

                              dennypageD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • dennypageD
                                dennypage @uk_dave
                                last edited by

                                @uk_dave said in NUT package:

                                BR1500GI

                                Can you post output of upsrw and upsc for the device please?

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                                • U
                                  uk_dave @dennypage
                                  last edited by

                                  @dennypage Output below:

                                  [2.4.5-RELEASE][admin@pfSense.localdomain]/root: upsrw ups
                                  [battery.charge.low]
                                  Remaining battery level when UPS switches to LB (percent)
                                  Type: STRING
                                  Maximum length: 10
                                  Value: 10
                                  
                                  [battery.runtime.low]
                                  Remaining battery runtime when UPS switches to LB (seconds)
                                  Type: STRING
                                  Maximum length: 10
                                  Value: 120
                                  
                                  [input.sensitivity]
                                  Input power sensitivity
                                  Type: STRING
                                  Maximum length: 10
                                  Value: medium
                                  
                                  [input.transfer.high]
                                  High voltage transfer point (V)
                                  Type: STRING
                                  Maximum length: 10
                                  Value: 294
                                  
                                  [input.transfer.low]
                                  Low voltage transfer point (V)
                                  Type: STRING
                                  Maximum length: 10
                                  Value: 176
                                  
                                  [ups.delay.shutdown]
                                  Interval to wait after shutdown with delay command (seconds)
                                  Type: STRING
                                  Maximum length: 10
                                  Value: 20
                                  
                                  [2.4.5-RELEASE][admin@pfSense.localdomain]/root: upsc ups
                                  battery.charge: 100
                                  battery.charge.low: 10
                                  battery.charge.warning: 50
                                  battery.date: 2001/09/25
                                  battery.mfr.date: 2015/03/19
                                  battery.runtime: 771
                                  battery.runtime.low: 120
                                  battery.type: PbAc
                                  battery.voltage: 27.3
                                  battery.voltage.nominal: 24.0
                                  device.mfr: American Power Conversion
                                  device.model: Back-UPS RS 1500G
                                  device.serial: 3B1512X15061
                                  device.type: ups
                                  driver.name: usbhid-ups
                                  driver.parameter.pollfreq: 30
                                  driver.parameter.pollinterval: 2
                                  driver.parameter.port: auto
                                  driver.parameter.synchronous: no
                                  driver.version: 2.7.4
                                  driver.version.data: APC HID 0.96
                                  driver.version.internal: 0.41
                                  input.sensitivity: medium
                                  input.transfer.high: 294
                                  input.transfer.low: 176
                                  input.voltage: 245.0
                                  input.voltage.nominal: 230
                                  ups.beeper.status: disabled
                                  ups.delay.shutdown: 20
                                  ups.firmware: 878.L4 .I
                                  ups.firmware.aux: L4
                                  ups.load: 29
                                  ups.mfr: American Power Conversion
                                  ups.mfr.date: 2015/03/19
                                  ups.model: Back-UPS RS 1500G
                                  ups.productid: 0002
                                  ups.realpower.nominal: 865
                                  ups.serial: 3B1512X15061
                                  ups.status: OL
                                  ups.test.result: No test initiated
                                  ups.timer.reboot: 0
                                  ups.timer.shutdown: -1
                                  ups.vendorid: 051d
                                  [2.4.5-RELEASE][admin@pfSense.localdomain]/root:
                                  

                                  Thanks again :)

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                                  • dennypageD
                                    dennypage @uk_dave
                                    last edited by

                                    I don't see anything troubling in your upsrw or upsc output.

                                    @uk_dave said in NUT package:

                                    My problem is that when power is restored, as soon as the host that talks to the UPS starts to boot up (i.e. immediately after going through POST) it triggers the UPS to go on battery (despite being plugged into the wall with AC power on) which it then stays on until the battery dies.

                                    More questions:

                                    • Are you testing by pulling mains from the UPS? Assuming yes...
                                    • When the pfSense shutdown occurs, is the UPS turning off the output?
                                    • How long are you waiting before restoring mains to the UPS?
                                    U 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • U
                                      uk_dave @dennypage
                                      last edited by

                                      @dennypage

                                      • yes, I turn the mains socket off
                                      • I don't believe it is, I've got a halogen lamp on a dimmer that can pull up to 435W so I've varied the load to full to bring the estimated run time down to 1 min remaining to force the shutdown process then ease up so it can last a few minutes and the UPS doesn't shut down until the battery dies... definitely longer than 20s
                                      • I usually wait about a minute before restoring power.
                                      dennypageD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • dennypageD
                                        dennypage @uk_dave
                                        last edited by

                                        @uk_dave said in NUT package:

                                        I don't believe it is

                                        Okay, this definitely is a problem. The last thing nut does is instruct the UPS to remove power after the configurable delay (20s by default).

                                        What I would do next is to move the pfSense box to not be powered by the UPS, but still have the USB connected. Then, test the power kill command of the UPS using "upsdrvctl shutdown" or the -k option to usbhid-ups.

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                                        • 4
                                          4o4rh @dennypage
                                          last edited by

                                          @dennypage can you help with the correct config pls.
                                          I have a APC UPS master on TrueNAS box

                                          I have a dumb UPS connected to pfsense and need to shutdown pfsense based on a timer triggered by the master due to the non-shared UPS.

                                          I have looked at the NUT documentation and examples below but i can't figure out if i need to use the heartbeat config or not.

                                          http://rogerprice.org/NUT/ConfigExamples.A5.pdf
                                          https://wiki.ipfire.org/addons/nut/detailed

                                          i simply want to shutdown the slave 20min after power loss, but obviously cancel the timer if the power comes back.

                                          is the a way to simulate a power failure on the master to test the slave without actually cutting power to the master?

                                          4 dennypageD 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • U
                                            uk_dave @dennypage
                                            last edited by

                                            @dennypage
                                            Hi, I have pfSense plugged into the wall and connected to the UPS via USB.

                                            running 'upsdrvctl shutdown' does indeed turn off the outputs, 20s later shutdowns the UPS which then turns back on since AC is still active to the UPS. Watching the console of pfSense it goes through:

                                            • Initiating UPS shutdown
                                            • UPS ups on battery
                                            • UPS ups on line power

                                            I wondered if somehow it had automagically fixed itself so after booting up again (successfully) I pulled the power to the UPS. pfSense shutdown correctly but the UPS outputs are still active and being powered. Left it for about 5 minutes but the UPS did not shutdown.

                                            This behaviour is consistent using NUT over 3x different machines and 2x different USB cables (bought another for testing). The machines I've been testing on (each as a standalone master) are:

                                            • HP T730 thin client (currently using as a test pfSense environment)
                                            • Asus Chromebox running Ubuntu
                                            • Supermicro pfSense machine based around a X11SCL-IF

                                            Two common denominators... the UPS and me, one of them is doing something wrong I think :)
                                            Cheers

                                            dennypageD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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