Smart UPS-1000 and PowerChute queries (power issues, safe shutdown)

[Anonymous user]

Hi all.

I've got a few queries about our Smart UPS-1000.

1. We've got three computers connected to our UPS - two Dell PowerEdge T410's and one Dell Vostro 230.

On the front of the UPS however only 2 device lights are on. These being the lights for the PowerEdge systems. The Vostro system however, whilst it does get mains power through the UPS, loses power when there is a power cut. i.e. it does not receive battery backup power like the PowerEdge servers do. The power supplies on the PowerEdge systems are 230v and the Vostro is 240v.

Any ideas why this might be? I of course need all three systems to receive battery backup power. I have tried different power cables from the UPS to the Vostro.

2. We have PowerChute Business Edition v8. Is this fully compatible with SBS 2008 64-bit edition?

3. In terms of safely shutting down our servers in the event of a power cut, I presume I can use the PowerChute software on the server to which the UPS is connected (via USB), but what about the other two systems that are not connected via USB?

I should add that the network switches are located in another room and, in the event of a power cut, these would currently be without power so therefore no network connection between systems.

Is there another way to safely shut down the other servers that are powered by the UPS?


Thanks in advance

[BillP]

ok lets start here. how much total runtime do you have available on your UPS? once i know that, i can provide more details.

[BillP]

1.) can you try just the vostro on the UPS itself by itself? does the server turn off or does it reboot? what is the exact model of the UPS model? it will be on a white sticker on the back or bottom of the UPS. depending on that, i may have more suggestions.

2.) here is the most up to date powerchute business edition compatibility chart -> http://www.apcmedia.com/salestools/ASTE-6Z5QEV_R25_EN.pdf

i attached the v8 compatibility chart for your reference though. i'd recommend upgrading to v9.0.1 if you can in order to take advantage of the new features.

3.) refer to this thread on how to shutdown multiple clients with one UPS -> Referenced content removed

hope that helps.

[Anonymous user]

thanks

does anybody know specificall what "OS Shutdown Delay" means in the configuration screen? APC support don't seem to have any idea.

basically I want the server to shut down properly and I understand the OS Shutdown Delay is the time the system will allow the server to shut down before it turns off the power. However, the max time in OS Shutdown Delay is 630 seconds (10.5 minutes) which with some servers is not long enough. This server will take approx 12 minutes to shut down.

[Anonymous user]

According to PowerChute it's got approximately 25 minutes runtime on battery.

Basically I want to achieve the following:

1. Power Cut Occurs (approx 25 minutes of battery power available)
2. After 5 minutes on battery power, begin shutting down the server (connected via USB) (approximately 20 minutes of battery power available)
3. Use up the remaining 20 minutes of battery power to safely shut down the server. Do not kill power to the server at all.

I'm sure everyone will agree that 10.5 minutes is not long enough in most cases to fully shut down a SBS system which is running Exchange and in most cases SQL server.

I spoke to APC support but they didn't know anything about the settings in PowerChute.

Cheers

[BillP]

unfortunately, that is hardcoded in as you suspect. it is simply how long the OS takes to shutdown and has a hardcoded maximum.

the other option you have is to shutdown a particular server based on a specific event, such as UPS on battery power.

if you have a server that takes 12 minutes and your total runtime on battery is 20 minutes, you can set the UPS to shutdown after the UPS has been on battery for ~7-8 minutes so that then the UPS will continue to run while that server begins its shutdown.

[Anonymous user]

i'm not entirely sure I follow when you mention *"the other option you have is to shutdown a particular server based on a specific event, such as UPS on battery power."*

basically, the server in question will take approx 12-15 minutes to shut down (it's running exchange etc). the 630 seconds is not likely to be a long enough window to fully complete a clean shutdown.

where are the options for doing what you suggested in terms of shutting down based on an event?

additionally, won't the OS Shutdown Delay setting of 630 seconds still force the ups to shut off power?

[BillP · Accepted solution]

ok, here is what i recommend.

within the powerchute business edition agent, go to the Events->Actions configuration screen.

on there, you will see the Power Failed event. If you click on it, there, you can initiate a shutdown sequence based on that event. Then, it looks like you can go to Protected System and adjust the runtime remaining threshold to be 12 minutes or something like that and put a very short OS shutdown delay?

i see that OS delay says: *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.*

so, now looking at it a little more, we won't be running a command file and can just use the runtime remaining threshold i think.

if we have 25 minutes total, we can sent the runtime remaining threshold to something like 15 or 20 minutes to allow the system plenty of time to shutdown.

no matter what we try here, i definitely recommend we test it to make sure that it does shut down the way you want it to and it does indeed take 12-15 minutes.

i hope that helps. - PS i was using version 8.0.1 and referring to options available via the Agent.