Ubuntu Manpage: genericups - Driver for contact-closure UPS equipment

Provided by: nut-server_2.8.1-3.1ubuntu2_amd64

NAME

       genericups - Driver for contact-closure UPS equipment

NOTE

       This man page only documents the specific features of the genericups driver. For
       information about the core driver, see nutupsdrv(8).

SUPPORTED HARDWARE

       This driver supports hardware from many different manufacturers as it only uses the very
       simplest of signaling schemes. Contact closure refers to a kind of interface where basic
       high/low signals are provided to indicate status. This kind of UPS can only report line
       power and battery status.

       This means that you will only get the essentials in ups.status: OL, OB, and LB (some UPSes
       may also support RB and BYPASS). Anything else requires a smarter UPS.

CABLING

       Cabling is different for every kind of UPS. See the table below for information on what is
       known to work with a given UPS type.

EXTRA ARGUMENTS

This driver supports the following settings in the ups.conf(5):

upstype=type
Required. Configures the driver for a specific kind of UPS. See the UPS Types section
below for more information on which entries are available.

mfr=string
Optional. The very nature of a generic UPS driver sometimes means that the stock
manufacturer data has no relation to the actual hardware that is attached. With the
mfr setting, you can change the value that is seen by clients that monitor this UPS.

model=string
Optional. This is like mfr above, but it overrides the model string instead.

serial=string
Optional. This is like mfr above and intended to record the identification string of
the UPS. It is titled "serial" because usually this string is referred to as the
serial number.

sdtime=value
Optional. The driver will sleep for this many seconds after setting the shutdown
signal. This is necessary for some hardware which requires a sustained level to
activate the shutdown sequence.

The default behavior of the driver is to exit immediately. If this doesn’t reliably
trigger a shutdown in your UPS hardware, use this setting to give it more time to
react.

Note
very large values for sdtime may create warnings from upsdrvctl if it gets tired of
waiting for the driver to return.

CUSTOM CONFIGURATIONS

       You may override the values for CP, OL, LB, and SD by defining them in the ups.conf(5)
       after the upstype setting.

       For example, to set the cable power to DTR and the low battery value to DCD, it would look
       like this:

           CP = DTR

           LB = DCD

       Recognized values for input lines are CTS, DCD, and RNG. Recognized values for output
       lines are DTR, RTS, and ST. See below for more about what these signals mean.

       These values may be negated for active low signals. That is, "LB=-DCD" recognizes a low
       battery condition when DCD is not held high.

TYPE INFORMATION

       The essence of a UPS definition in this driver is how it uses the serial lines that are
       available. These are the abbreviations you will see below:

       OL
           On line (no power failure) (opposite of OB - on battery)

       LB
           Low battery

       RB
           Replace battery

       BYPASS
           Battery bypass active or no battery installed

       SD
           Shutdown load

       CP
           Cable power (must be present for cable to have valid reading)

       CTS
           Clear to Send. Received from the UPS.

       RTS
           Ready to Send. Sent by the PC.

       DCD
           Data Carrier Detect. Received from the UPS.

       RNG
           Ring indicate. Received from the UPS.

       DTR
           Data Terminal Ready. Sent by the PC.

       DSR
           Data Set Ready. Received from the UPS.

       ST
           Send a BREAK on the transmit data line

       NULL
           Disable this signal. Disabled signal will always be low except for OL which will
           always be high.

       none
           Alias to NULL which matches some other documentation.

       A "-" in front of a signal name (like -RNG) means that the indicated condition is signaled
       with an active low signal. For example, [LB=-RNG] means the battery is low when the ring
       indicate line goes low, and that the battery is OK when that line is held high.

UPS TYPES

       0 = UPSonic LAN Saver 600

           [CP=DTR+RTS] [OL=-CTS] [LB=DCD] [SD=DTR]

       1 = APC Back-UPS/Back-UPS Pro/Smart-UPS with 940-0095A/C cable

           [CP=DTR] [OL=-RNG] [LB=DCD] [SD=RTS]

       2 = APC Back-UPS/Back-UPS Pro/Smart-UPS with 940-0020B cable

           [CP=RTS] [OL=-CTS] [LB=DCD] [SD=DTR+RTS]

           Type 2 has also been reported to work with the 940-0020C cable.

       3 = PowerTech Comp1000 with DTR cable power

           [CP=DTR] [OL=CTS] [LB=DCD] [SD=DTR+RTS]

       4 = Generic RUPS Model

           [CP=RTS] [OL=CTS] [LB=-DCD] [SD=-RTS]

       5 = Tripp Lite UPS with Lan2.2 interface (black 73-0844 cable)

           [CP=DTR] [OL=CTS] [LB=-DCD] [SD=DTR+RTS]

       6 = Best Patriot with INT51 cable

           [CP=DTR] [OL=CTS] [LB=-DCD] [SD=RTS]

       7 = CyberPower Power99 Also Upsonic Power Guardian PG-500, Belkin Belkin Home Office,
       F6H350-SER, F6H500-SER, F6H650-SER, Eaton Management Card Contact - Config3 with cable
       66033 (shutdown does not work)

           [CP=RTS] [OL=CTS] [LB=-DCD] [SD=DTR]

       8 = Nitram Elite 500

           [CP=DTR] [OL=CTS] [LB=-DCD] [SD=???]

       9 = APC Back-UPS/Back-UPS Pro/Smart-UPS with 940-0023A cable

           [CP=none] [OL=-DCD] [LB=CTS] [SD=RTS]

       10 = Victron Lite with crack cable

           [CP=RTS] [OL=CTS] [LB=-DCD] [SD=DTR]

       11 = Powerware 3115

           [CP=DTR] [OL=-CTS] [LB=-DCD] [SD=ST]

       12 = APC Back-UPS Office with 940-0119A cable

           [CP=RTS] [OL=-CTS] [LB=DCD] [SD=DTR]

       13 = RPT Repoteck RPT-800A/RPT-162A

           [CP=DTR+RTS] [OL=DCD] [LB=-CTS] [SD=ST]

       14 = Online P-series

           [CP=DTR] [OL=DCD] [LB=-CTS] [SD=RTS]

       15 = Powerware 5119, 5125

           [CP=DTR] [OL=CTS] [LB=-DCD] [SD=ST]

       16 = Nitram Elite 2002

           [CP=DTR+RTS] [OL=CTS] [LB=-DCD] [SD=???]

       17 = PowerKinetics 9001

           [CP=DTR] [OL=CTS] [LB=-DCD] [SD=???]

       18 = TrippLite Omni 450LAN with Martin’s cabling

           [CP=DTR] [OL=CTS] [LB=DCD] [SD=none]

       19 = Fideltronic Ares Series

           [CP=DTR] [OL=CTS] [LB=-DCD] [SD=RTS]

       20 = Powerware 5119 RM

           [CP=DTR] [OL=-CTS] [LB=DCD] [SD=ST]

           Check docs/cables/powerware.txt

       21 = Generic RUPS 2000 (Megatec M2501 cable)

           [CP=RTS] [OL=CTS] [LB=-DCD] [SD=RTS+DTR]

       22 = Gamatronic All models with alarm interface (also CyberPower SL series)

           [CP=RTS] [OL=CTS] [LB=-DCD] [SD=DTR]

       23 = Generic FTTx (Fiber to the x) battery backup with 4-wire telemetry interface

           [CP=RTS] [OL=CTS] [LB=-DCD] [RB=-RNG] [BYPASS=-DSR] [SD=none]

SIMILAR MODELS

       Many different UPS companies make models with similar interfaces. The RUPS cable seems to
       be especially popular in the "power strip" variety of UPS found in office supply stores.
       If your UPS works with an entry in the table above, but the model or manufacturer
       information don’t match, don’t despair. You can fix that easily by using the mfr and model
       variables documented above in your ups.conf(5).

TESTING COMPATIBILITY

If your UPS isn’t listed above, you can try going through the list until you find one that
works. There is a lot of cable and interface reuse in the UPS world, and you may find a
match.

To do this, first make sure nothing important is plugged into the outlets on the UPS, as
you may inadvertently switch it off. Definitely make sure that the computer you’re using
is not plugged into that UPS. Plug in something small like a lamp so you know when power
is being supplied to the outlets.

Now, you can either attempt to make an educated guess based on the documentation your
manufacturer has provided (if any), or just start going down the list.

Step 1
Pick a driver to try from the list (genericups -h) and go to step 2.

Step 2
Start the driver with the type you want to try -

genericups -x upstype=n /dev/port

Let upsd sync up (watch the syslog), and then run upsc to see what it found. If the STATUS
is right (should be OL for on line), continue to Step 3, otherwise go back to step 1.

Alternatively, you can run genericups in debug mode -

genericups -DDDDD -x upstype=n /dev/port

In this mode it will be running in the foreground and continuously display the line and
battery status of the UPS.

Step 3
Disconnect the UPS from the wall/mains power. This is easiest if you have a switched
outlet in between it and the wall, but you can also just pull the plug to test. The lamp
should stay lit, and the status should switch to "OB". If the lamp went out or the status
didn’t go to "OB" within about 15 seconds, go to Step 1. Otherwise, continue to Step 4.

Step 4
At this point, we know that OL and OB work. If nothing else beyond this point works, you
at least know what your OL/OB value should be.

Wait for the UPS to start complaining about a low battery. Depending on the size of your
UPS battery and the lamp’s bulb, this could take awhile. It should start complaining
audibly at some point. When this happens, STATUS should show "OB LB" within 15 seconds. If
not, go to Step 1, otherwise continue to Step 5.

Step 5
So far: OL works, OB works, and LB works.

With the UPS running on battery, run the genericups driver with the -k switch to shut it
down.

genericups -x upstype=n -k /dev/port

If the UPS turns off the lamp, you’re done. At this point, you have verified that the
shutdown sequence actually does what you want. You can start using the genericups driver
with this type number for normal operations.

You should use your findings to add a section to your ups.conf. Here is a quick example:

[myups]
driver = genericups
port = /dev/ttyS0
upstype = 1

Change the port and upstype values to match your system.

NEW SUPPORT

       If the above testing sequence fails, you will probably need to create a new entry to
       support your hardware. All UPS types are determined from the table in the genericups.h
       file in the source tree.

       On a standard 9 pin serial port, there are 6 lines that are used as the standard
       "high/low" signal levels. 4 of them are incoming (to the PC, from the UPS), and the other
       2 are outgoing (to the UPS, from the PC). The other 3 are the receive/transmit lines and
       the ground.

       Be aware that many manufacturers remap pins within the cable. If you have any doubts, a
       quick check with a multimeter should confirm whether the cable is straight-through or not.
       Another thing to keep in mind is that some cables have electronics in them to do special
       things. Some have resistors and transistors on board to change behavior depending on
       what’s being supplied by the PC.

SPECIFIC MODEL NOTES

       These have been contributed by users of this driver.

       The Centralion CL series may power down the load if the driver starts up with the UPS
       running on battery as the default line settings contain the shutdown sequence. - Neil
       Muller

       The Tripp-Lite Internet Office 700 must be used with the black 73-0844 cable instead of
       the gray 73-0743 cable. This entry should work with any of their models with the Lan 2.2
       interface - see the sticker by the DB9 connector on the UPS. - Stephen Brown

       Type 5 should work with the Tripp-Lite Lan 2.1 interface and the 73-0724 cable. This was
       tested with the OmniSmart 675 PNP on Red Hat 7.2. - Q Giese

       Types 7 and 10 should both work with the PhoenixTec A1000.

BUGS

       There is no way to reliably detect a contact-closure UPS. This means the driver will start
       up happily even if no UPS is detected. It also means that if the connection between the
       UPS and computer is interrupted, you may not be able to sense this in software.

       Most contact-closure UPSes will not power down the load if the line power is present. This
       can create a race when using secondary upsmon(8) systems. See the upsmon(8) man page for
       more information.

       The solution to both of these problems is to upgrade to a smart protocol UPS of some kind
       that allows detection and proper load cycling on command.