Cannot see devices in Power Chute Business Edition

[Anonymous user]

I have 2 UPS units connected to a windows 2003 server running Powerchute Business Edition. How do I see them in the conole. No matter what I do they will not show up.

They are both Smart UPS. One is a 3000XLM and one is a 2200XL.

[BillP]

that screenshot is from the network management card.

you need to log into powerchute network shutdown which you install on your server.

see attached screenshot.

i logged into PCNS by going to http://127.0.0.1:3052 and going to configure events on the left then to UPS: on battery event and clicked on the check mark in the "shutdown" column.

[Anonymous user]

I do not see where I can set the UPS to shutdown after lets say 5 minutes on battery. the only option I have is based on time left on batteries.

I have attached a screenshot.

[BillP]

hi,

i just want to ask a couple of things to make sure you are doing things correctly..

the Smart UPS 3000XLM comes with a preinstalled network management card which operates separately than Powerchute Business Edition. Powerchute Business Edition relies on a physical (serial or USB) connection to the UPS.

The network management card is recommended for use but you can use Powerchute in conjuction with USB or serial but you need to make sure the network management card is removed from the UPS (which requires a power down of the UPS) and that you connect either the serial or USB cable to the UPS as well as the server you want to monitor the UPS/shutdown. The 'server' portion of the Business Edition should be installed on one machine on your network (has to be a Windows machine) and then you can install the console on any machine you want.

We can get into more of troubleshooting this scenario once we are clear on what you are trying to achieve.

Let us know if you are trying to use the network management cards in each UPS or are trying to work with physical connections via USB or serial to each UPS. Each server that you want to gracefully shutdown would need to be connected to each UPS via a communication cable where as a network management card achieves graceful shutdown over the network (which is easier to set up and is recommended - its better for a large amount of clients as well).

[Anonymous user]

Basically I have a server that is connected to both UPS units. I would like to have the software on that machine and handle the shutting down of servers in that way. The server is connected via usb on the 2000 XL and via serial connection on the 3000XLM. I want to use the physical connection because the 2200 xl does not have a network card in it.

I only need the monitoring server connected to the UPS units correct? Not each one that will be shut down right? Also what is the benefit of using the network management card and can I get one for the other UPS?

As I said before the software is installed but I cannot see either UPS in the powerchute business edition software.

Message was edited by: jauner

[BillP]

if you use business edition, you DO need a phyiscal connection to each server that you want shutdown. in your case, you'd need to look into an interface expander to get more serial ports (since there is no device to do it via USB) which will be more confusing an expensive than just buying a second network management card. it will also cause for less cables.

a network management card offers email alerts, graceful shutdown, snmp access, data and event logs amongst other helpful features and i highly recommend you look into one for the second UPS. the AP9617, which is the basic network management card retails for around $279. as mentioned, all the graceful shutdowns are done via the network in conjuction with Powerchute network shutdown software, which is a free download.

if you'd like to see what a network management card looks like, check out http://testdrive.apc.com to log into one and "test drive."

so, the problem at hand - to start with what you have - you need a physical connection to each particular server you want the UPS to shutdown. so if you only wanted one to shutdown, thats fine. next, we need to make sure all three portions of the powerchute business edition are installed if you are using a deluxe version - agent, server and console and there needs to be network connectivity between all of them.

can you let me know where you have them installed - if its just on two different machines and whats installed on what?

[TheNotoriousKMP_apc]

Based on the details, there's only one server, connected physically to two different UPS's, one via Serial and one via USB.

The problem with them being seen is that it should only see one, but the one via USB is probably the one with the NMC installed in it (The XLM).

You problem is that you cannot have a physical connection between two UPS's and 1 server. You would need another NMC installed in the non XLM UPS, and create a Custom Install instance of PCNS.

[Anonymous user]

I am thinking of going the NMC route but I have a question. Is the unit DHCP? How do I know what address it grabs? Such as does it have a standard machine name for the card, etc.

Also I did the test drive of the NMC and I am wondering is there any way to do notification on it as far as sending out notification emails. Or do I have to set it up in powerchute?

Message was edited by: jauner

[BillP]

NMC and powerchute are totally separate for this part. powerchute network shutdown will be installed on the servers for the graceful shutdown but the management card does all the monitoring of the UPS/notifications. you will set up the email alerts inside the network management card. On test drive, if you log into a card and go to Administration Tab->Notification section, you will see where you can do this.

by default, the NMC is set to DHCP with a DHCP cookie enabled (which is option 43 on your DHCP server which is known as a vendor cookie as well). so if this isnt set up, the NMC wont get a DHCP address. you can disable this cookie at a later time though. [take a look at this article on how to set up the network management card|http://nam-en.apc.com/cgi-bin/nam_en.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=3061].

let me know if you have any other questions.

[Anonymous user]

Ok I have the NMC all setup and I have the notifications working for critical issues. How do I setup the Powerchute network shutdown so the UPS can shutdown all my servers?

Where do I get the software from?

[BillP · Accepted solution]

powerchute network shutdown is available [at this link|http://www.apcc.com/tools/download/software_comp.cfm?sw_sku=SFPCNS223&id=127&family=&part_num=&swfam...] for whatever OS you want.

by default, after installing it, with no additional configuration, the server will shutdown based on the low battery duration mark in the network management card (which is a default of two minutes). if you want to configure a specific event to shut the server down, such as after the UPS has been on battery for 5 minutes, you can do that on the Configure Events section in the shutdown column.

I think once you install the software and see the interface, you will figure out how to go about it for your scenario.

on the configure shutdown section, you want to make sure that the "Turn off the UPS after the shutdown finishes (Not applicable to Parallel Silcon UPS and Smart-UPS VT)." check box is selected on the last server in your shutdown time line so that a server doesn't shutdown the UPS while the other servers are shutting down. or you can leave this blank and let the UPS just shutdown when it reaches a low battery.

let me know if you need anything else.