PowerChute Business v Network Shutdown with VM Workstation

[BillP]

An end user has the following hardware and wants to shutdown the VMs on their Workstation then the Server in the event of an outage. 

Server: Win 7 Ultimate (64-bit)
Workstation: Win 7 (Pro edition). The HyperVison is VMWare Workstation.

Can PowerChute Business Edition be used with a SMC1500i to performed this shutdown via USB cable and customer script?

Can Does PowerChute execute a script (eg a PowerShell or simple batch file) when it triggers the shutdown procedure? Is there a trigger generated by PowerChute allowing the user to write a simple script to shut down VMs?

Or is the only option to use Network Edition be used with a SMT1500i and AP9630? Does this allow more functionality as the VM version doesn't appear to be supported by the AP9630/PCNS?

• • When using a Network Management Card with PowerChute Network Shutdown you are able to perform a network-based shutdown of multiple servers
  • PowerChute Network Shutdown Software includes Operating system shutdown with advanced integration support for VMware® ESX/ESXi & Microsoft® Hyper-V and SCVMM

[BillP · Accepted solution]

Hi,

On 11/8/2017 11:08 PM, BDC Services said:

Server: Win 7 Ultimate (64-bit)
Workstation: Win 7 (Pro edition). The HyperVison is VMWare Workstatio

Both OS are supported with PowerChute Business Edition and PowerChute Network Shutdown. With PowerChute Business Edition and a SMC you can only connect 1 of the computers to the UPS. That system would have act as the primary and you would have to write a script that would tell the secondary system to power down. The command would be something like shutdown /s /f /m \\server ip /c "PowerChute has initiated a system shutdown" /t 0 You would also need to write a command file that would run on the host that would trigger the VMs to power down prior to the host OS since PCBE does not support VMware Workstation. 

If you were deploying a SMT than you could install a network card (AP9630 or AP9631) and then install PowerChute Network Shutdown on each system. There may be an issue with the Win 7 running VMware Workstation since PCNS does not officially support that. However, as with PCBE you could write a command file that would trigger the VMs to power down prior to the host OS. 

On 11/8/2017 11:08 PM, BDC Services said:

Can Does PowerChute execute a script (eg a PowerShell or simple batch file) when it triggers the shutdown procedure? Is there a trigger generated by PowerChute allowing the user to write a simple script to shut down VMs?

Both PCBE and PCNS have the ability to run command files or scripts on Linux. PowerShell scripts are not supported however you can write a command file that will trigger a PowerShell script if needed. Command files can be configured from within PowerChute to run for a specific event and during the shutdown process. Example: UPS has been on battery for 10 minutes so a command file is triggered to tell a remote server to power down. Then the UPS reports it is at low battery so another command file is triggered to power down a second remote server and then system running PowerChute is shutdown. 

On 11/8/2017 11:08 PM, BDC Services said:

When using a Network Management Card with PowerChute Network Shutdown you are able to perform a network-based shutdown of multiple servers

Yes

On 11/8/2017 11:08 PM, BDC Services said:

PowerChute Network Shutdown Software includes Operating system shutdown with advanced integration support for VMware® ESX/ESXi & Microsoft® Hyper-V and SCVMM

Correct