New SUA3000XL with existing Net Management Card 2

[sedewaard_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 7/28/2015

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We had to RTV a SUA3000XL (it functioned OK except the front panel LEDs wouldn't light up), and when we put in the new SUA3000XL, with the existing Network Management Card 2 (that was in the RTV'ed unit), we find that the Server connected to the UPS (running Powerchute) shuts down (due to loss of power) less than a minute after logging into windows.   It seems that the UPS configuration is stored in the Network Management Card 2, so we didn't need to update any settings on the UPS.  Normally, the Powerchute settings on the Server have it shut down only with 23 minutes of battery remaining, but I'm not running on battery.  Any ideas?

[BillP]

This reply was originally posted by Angela on APC forums on 7/28/2015

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Hi Steve,

Is it PowerChute Business Edition or PowerChute Network Shutdown? You should be using PowerChute Network Shutdown if you have a UPS Network Management Card in your UPS.

This type of thing shouldn't happen though. There really should be no UPS specific configuration saved on the Network Management Card.

Is it at all possible to extract the log files from the Network Management Card so we can determine what is happening? Instructions are here if you're able to log in to the Network Management Card -> http://www.apc.com/support/index?page=content&country=ITB〈=en&locale=en_US&id=FA156131 

[sedewaard_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 7/28/2015

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Angela,

We are using the PowerChute Network Shutdown. 

What is stored on the Network Management Card 2?  The IP info, user/password, and other configuration items were the same, as viewed from the on the web service generated from the card.  Is there other UPS configuration stored elsewhere?  I only access the UPS via the NMC serial and ethernet ports.

I have the saved logs of data and events.  I can upload them tomorrow AM if you want them.

[Terry_Kennedy_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 7/29/2015

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Items relating to the configuration and management of the NMC/NMC2 are stored on the card. UPS configuration changes (such as UPS name, last battery replacement date, shutdown delay, etc.) are processed by the NMC but they are then sent to the UPS which handles saving them. If you have an old config.ini file saved from the NMC2 when it was in the original UPS, it will have a section with the settings configured on that UPS. For example:

[Symmetra]
VoutReporting=Auto
FreqVoltOverload=Go to Bypass
AlarmRedundancyUnder=Never
AlarmLoadOver=Never
AlarmRuntimeUnder=60
ReturnBatteryCapacity=0
LowBatteryDuration=2
ShutdownDelay=20
ReturnDelay=240
SleepTime=000
UPSName="UPS2    "
BatteryDate=11/21/12
SimpleSignalShutdown=disabled
SelfTestSchedule=Every 14 days

However, that section is populated whenever the NMC restarts, so what it shows now will be the values in your new UPS.

If you use a configuration change monitoring package like RANCID, I wrote a module (which you can download here) which lets RANCID monitor configuration changes from most APC devices with network interfaces (including the NMC/NMC2/PDU/ATS product lines).

Some UPS models (such as the Symmetra) allow copying the UPS settings into the front panel, and then you can move the front panel to a different UPS of the same model and copy the settings back. That doesn't apply in your case.

It sounds like the unexpected shutdown may be happening between the UPS and the PowerChute running on the PC. I would suggest checking to make sure everything (PowerChute on PC, firmware on UPS, NMC2) is up-to-date. If your new UPS came with different firmware than was on the original unit, there may be a mis-communication between them.

[sedewaard_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 7/29/2015

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Terry, 

Thanks for the clarification.  I'm thinking we need to update those parameters.  We tried to apply the same config.ini file (using the web server interface) that was used before, but Internet Explorer went to a "Can't display this page" screen and the config file didn't get re-applied.  We could try the serial transfer of the config.ini file, or we could manually go in and update the parameters.

We disconnected the UPS from the Network, booted the server and it didn't shutdown, so we reviewed the Powerchute log and saw that the event triggered was the Runtime Exceeded event.  The settings that are stored on the UPS relate to that function, so I believe we need to update them.

Thanks,

Steve

[BillP · Accepted solution]

This reply was originally posted by Angela on APC forums on 7/29/2015

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Hi Steve,

Bill P on the forum helped me understand this better. We're going to need to either get the shutdown settings copied over from the old NMC (that it extracted from the UPS) or at least log in to the network management card and increase the Low Battery Duration value under shutdown settings to be at least 2+ minutes higher than the PowerChute configuration for Runtime Exceeded. After we do that, it will probably stop shutting down your PowerChute client so then you can log in to look at PowerChute's configuration and help file for Runtime Exceeded event to what should be set to what.

If you have your old config.ini, look for [SmartUPS/Matrix] section, similar to the exerpt Terry posted for Symmetra, and look at what LowBatteryDuration keyword is set to in there and at a minimum, we need to align that value and the problem will probably stop with the shutting down. Then you'll have time to correct any other settings causing a problem.

What probably happened is you had old PowerChute Network Shutdown configuration based on your original UPS's settings you modified and this UPS's settings are at default and need to be changed - either manually or by uploading the config.ini containing the old UPS's settings that the Management Card extracted and saved for you. When you installed the new management card, it just read the current settings from the new UPS. In reality, these settings live on the UPS.

We can also help if you give us a pcnsconfig.ini file and the config.ini from your original UPS/NMC combination.

P.S. - You can also FTP the config.ini to the Network Management Card. (Some info on single config.ini upload and download and also mass uploading/downloading config.ini is here -> http://www.apc.com/support/index?page=content&country=ITB〈=en&locale=en_US&id=FA156117 )

[sedewaard_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 7/29/2015

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Angela,

Thanks!  This issue is resolved.  We manually changed the [SmartUPS/Matrix] section parameters in the Web Server interface and that fixed the issue.

Steve