Shutdown settings of PCNS

[BillP]

Hi Support,

Good day.

I've setup my UPS to perform graceful shutdown on my vCenter VMs and ESXi hosts.

I'm a bit confused with the PCNS Shutdown Settings:

https://:6547 --> Shutdown Settings --> UPS Shutdown.

The default option is "Do not turn off the UPS". Is it the recommended settings? When should I choose "Turn Off the UPS" or "Turn off the UPS Outlet Group" ?

Thank you.

Best regards,

Kong

[BillP · Accepted solution]

Hi,

On 10/17/2017 6:41 AM, kong said:

The default option is "Do not turn off the UPS". Is it the recommended settings?

Yes. The default seeing has been determined based on customer feedback.

On 10/17/2017 6:41 AM, kong said:

When should I choose "Turn Off the UPS" or "Turn off the UPS Outlet Group" ?

Once PCNS has powered down the VMs and hosts they will stay off until a user intervenes and turns them on. If you would like the hosts to power on automatically when AC is restored the UPS must cut power to the host/server. If you do not select turn UPS off or turn off outlet group the UPS will continue to run on battery until drained. If AC is restored prior to the battery being drained the UPS will switch back to AC output and AC will not be cut to the host/server. In most servers BIOS you have the option to configure the system to power back up once AC has been restored so AC must be cut to have it restored.

You should configure that option and select turn off UPS or turn off outlet group if you would like the host/server to power on automatically when AC is restored. When the shutdown process is run by PCNS it will send a signal to the UPS or outlet group to power down. The UPS and or outlet group will wait a delay set on the NMC allowing the VMs and host to power down and then cut AC. When AC is restored the UPS and or outlet group will re-energize and the host will start up automatically if the BIOS has been configured properly. 

You would select turn off UPS if you want the entire load connect to the UPS to have AC cut. You would select turn off outlet group if you would like the outlet group that the host is plug into to have AC cut. Turning off only the UPS would allow the other outlet group / groups to remain powered on until AC is restored or the battery drains. 

The process is discussed on the PCNS VMware User's Guide on page 91 of the PDF.