PCBE shutdown - time required for shutdown vs battery thresholds vs runtime

[Hypertronics_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 3/17/2010

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I am a bit confused about the shutdown options in PCBE. The server this UPS is protecting is SBS 2008 and takes about 10mins to shutdown, and 15mins to startup.
I simply want in the event of power cut to run the server for 5mins, and if the power does not come back to start the shutdown, wait 10m cut power to the server, when power is restored, charge battery to 30% then restore power to server.
Perhaps someone could explain the time required for shutdown sequence actually works in the real world please?
This is what is not clear:
Time Required For Shutdown Sequence 20 Minutes
The amount of time, as entered by the user, required to complete the shutdown sequence
From the help file:
Use the UPS On Battery Thresholds to set the Runtime Remaining Threshold for your UPS. This is the threshold at which PowerChute Business Edition initiates an OS shutdown. The range is from 2 to 59 minutes. For example, if you set the the Runtime Remaining Threshold to 10 minutes, and your UPS switches to battery operation, an OS shutdown begins when your UPS's battery has only 10 minutes of runtime remaining.
Settings:
Time Required For Shutdown Sequence 20 Minutes
The amount of time, as entered by the user, required to complete the shutdown sequence.

Low Battery Signal 2 Minutes
When this signal occurs, an immediate shutdown will begin.

Command File Enabled No
Indicates if a user-configured command file will run during the shutdown sequence.

OS Shutdown Delay 10:30 Minutes:Seconds
The maximum time required for OS shutdown after the configured command file has completed. After this delay, the UPS will turn off its output, turning off power to the protected system.

OS Shutdown Type Shutdown
Allows for system shutdown, or hibernate (if supported by operating system).

Enable OS Reboot Yes
Indicates if system will start after input line power has returned.

UPS Turn On Battery Capacity 30 %
The UPS will restart once its batteries charge to at least this level.

UPS Turn On Delay 1 Minutes
The amount of time that the UPS will wait after it reaches its Turn On Battery Capacity, before returning power to the system.

Enable SMTP E-mail No
Indicates if receipt of E-mail has been enabled for shutdown.

Enable Notification No
Indicates if notification has been enabled for shutdown, which users will be notified and the rate at which notification will be repeated, if repeat notification is enabled.

Enable Logging Yes
Indicates if logging has been enabled for shutdown.

Message was edited by: Hypertronics

[BillP · Accepted solution]

This reply was originally posted by Laurie on APC forums on 3/18/2010

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First, make sure you have the latest version of PCBE for your UPS, since the terms may vary between versions. What UPS do you have and what version of the software?

Second, based on your requirements, it sounds like you will want to use the "Time On Battery Threshold Exceeded" event to shutdown your server. This way, you can tell the UPS to initiate a graceful shutdown for your server after it has been on battery for x minutes/seconds.

You'll then want to change the runtime remaining threshold to 10m, since that's how long it takes to shutdown. In that case, with these 2 settings configured, the UPS will either run your server for 5m & initiate a shutdown or wait until there's 10m runtime remaining & initiate a shutdown, whichever comes first. Either way, the UPS will wait 10m after triggering the graceful shutdown before it cuts power.

As for your last requirement, there's a "Power Return Settings" section under Protected System > Shutdown Settings where you can require the battery to recharge to 30% prior to the UPS powering back on.