APCSMART(8) NUT Manual APCSMART(8)
NAME
apcsmart - Driver for American Power Conversion Smart Protocol UPS equipment
SYNOPSIS
apcsmart -h
apcsmart -a 'UPS_NAME' [-x option=value ...]
Note
This man page only documents the hardware-specific features of the apcsmart driver. For information about the core driver, see
nutupsdrv(8).
SUPPORTED HARDWARE
The apcsmart driver should recognize (or at the very least work with) majority of Smart-UPS models - which includes Smart-UPS, Matrix-UPS
and Back-UPS lineups, among few other ones.
Currently we can roughly divide APC hardware into 3 groups (note that the division isn't strict by any means, and the borders between those
are pretty fuzzy):
[very] "old" models
These models usually have old APC logo, white color and no programmable eeprom; You won't find them listed anywhere on APC's site
either. The support for those will be usually based on driver's compatibility tables, or if the model (firmware) is not listed in those
- the driver will try to follow the very basic subset of features, while still trying to remain useful. Despite "smart" tagname, they
often tend to behave in pretty dumb way (see the section below about shutdown behaviour).
Example models:
o Smart-UPS 2000I
o Smart-UPS 900I
"new" models
These models usually come from late 1990s / pre-2009 times. They are often referred as "3rd. gen". For the most part, they have
programmable eeprom, report supported commands and capabilites, and should work just fine with the apcsmart driver.
"microlink" models
WARNING: these are not natively supported by apcsmart (or apcupsd for that matter, if you're wondering). Around 2007 APC (now APC
Schneider) decided to go back to its proprietry roots and all the new models (SMT, SMX, SURTD) use completely different protocol and
cables. If you purchased a new APC UPS, that uses cable with rj45 on the one end, and db-9 on the other - then you have such model.
Your only option to support it through NUT is to purchase "legacy communications card" - part #AP9620 (google 'AP9620' for more
details). Or if that's not an option, rely on official software.
Another thing to remember is that Smart protocol is not USB protocol. If you have UPS with both USB and serial ports, then depending on how
you connect it, you will need either apcsmart or usbhid-ups driver.
CABLING
This driver expects to see a 940-0024C cable or a clone by default. You can switch to the 940-0095B dual-mode cable support with the
'cable=' definition described below.
If your 940-xx24X cable is broken or missing, use this diagram to build a clone:
http://www.networkupstools.org/cables.html#_940_0024c_clone
Note
The "xx" is either "00" for a short cable, or the number of feet of a longer cable. The "X" is a letter representing the minor revision
of the physical cable and its connectors ("C" and "E" are commonly found revisions). All minor revisions should use the same pin-outs
and wiring.
You can specify alternate cable in ups.conf(5):
cable=940-0095B
Alternatively, you can also provide it on the command line using:
-x cable=940-0095B
EXPLANATION OF SHUTDOWN METHODS SUPPORTED BY APC UPSES
APC hardware supports a lot of shutdown methods, that themselves can differ in behaviour quite a bit, depending on the model.
S (soft hibernate)
This is most basic command present in probably all APC models. It will hibernate the UPS, and subsequently wake it up when the mains
supply returns. The command doesn't work if UPS is running on mains.
"old" models
The behaviour here is unfortunately pretty primitive - when the power returns, the UPS just wakes up. No grace periods, no min.
battery charge condition, etc. This is probably not what you want.
"new" models
The behaviour here is as expected - the power is cut off after the eeprom defined grace period. The UPS will wake up when the power
returns, after the eeprom defined delay AND if the eeprom defined min. battery charge level is met. The delay is counted from the
power's return.
CS (aka "force OB hack")
This is a trick to make UPS power down even if it's running on mains. Immediately before issuing S, "simulate power failure" is issued.
The remaining behaviour is as in S case.
The name came from APC CS models, where such trick was used to power down UPSes in consistent fashion using only S. It's better to use
@nnn command if your UPS supports it (and is not too old, see below).
@nnn (hard hibernate)
This is basic command used to hibernate UPS regardless if it's running on batteries or on mains. The option takes 3 digits argument
which can be used to specify additional wakeup delay (in 6 minute units).
"old" models
The behaviour is - unfortunately - similary primitive to S. The UPS unconditionally wakes up after nnn*6 minutes - it doesn't care
if the power returned ! If nnn = 000, then UPS will do precisely nothing. On those models you're better specifying nnn > 0, if you
can estimate the kind of power problems that might be happening in your environment. Another thing to consider with "old" models -
you might lose the connection with the UPS, until it wakes up (with S, the serial connection is kept alive).
"new" models
All the usual variables defined in eeprom are respected (see S). Additionally, if nnn > 0, the nnn*6 minutes are added to eeprom
defined delay. UPS will not power up if it's running on batteries, contrary to what "old" models used to do - the combined delay is
counted from the moment of power return.
Supposedly there exist models that take 2 digits instead of 3. Just in case, NUT also supports such variation. You have to provide
exactly 2 digits to trigger it (awd option, or argument to one of the supported instant commands).
K (delayed poweroff)
This is permanent poweroff - the UPS will not wake up automatically. On newer units, it will respect applicable eeprom variables.
Z (instant poweroff)
This is also permanent poweroff - the UPS will not wake up automatically. The poweroff is executed immediately.
SHUTDOWN CONTROL BY NUT
There are three options used to control the shutdown behaviour.
sdtype=[0-5]
This option takes a single digit (0-5) as an argument. See below for details.
advorder=no|[0-4]+
This option takes string of digits as an argument. Methods listed are tried in turn until one of them succeedes. Note that the meaning
of digits is different from sdtype. See below for details.
awd=[0-9]{1,3}
This option lets you specify additional wakeup delay used by @. If you provide exactly 2 digits, the driver will try 2 digits variation
(see previous section for more info). Otherwise standard 3 digits variation is used. Note: the time unit is 6 minutes !
Keep in mind that sdtype and advorder are mutually exclusive. If advorder is provided, sdtype is ignored. If advorder is set to 'no',
sdtype is used instead.
If nothing is provided, NUT will assume sdtype=0 - which is generally fine for anything not too ancient or not too quirky.
SDTYPE
The values permitted are from 0 to 5. Only one can be specified. Anything else will cause apcsmart to exit.
0
issue soft hibernate (S) if the UPS is running on batteries, otherwise issue hard hibernate (@)
1
issue soft hibernate (S) (if on batteries), and if it fails (or on mains) - try hard hibernate (@)
2
issue instant poweroff (Z)
3
issue delayed poweroff (K)
4
issue "force OB hack" (CS)
5
issue hard hibernate (@)
Note
Hard hibernate's additional wakeup delay can be provided by awd.
ADVORDER
The argument is either a word 'no', or a string of 1 - 5 digits in [0 - 4] range. Each digit maps to the one of shutdown methods supported
by APC UPSes. Methods listed in this way are tried in order, until one of them succedes.
If advorder is undefined or set to 'no', sdtype is used instead.
The mapping is as follows:
0 soft hibernate (S)
1 hard hibernate (@)
2 delayed poweroff (K)
3 instant poweroff (Z)
4 "force OB hack" (CS)
Note
Hard hibernate's additional wakeup delay can be provided by awd.
IGNORING LB STATE
APC units - even if they report LB mode - will not go into shutdown automatically. This gives us even more control with reference to "when
to actually shutdown psu". Since version 2.6.2, NUT supports ignorelb option in driver's section of ups.conf(5). When such option is in
effect, the core driver will ignore LB state as reported by specific driver and start shutdown basing the decision only on two conditions:
battery.charge < battery.charge.low
OR
battery.runtime < battery.runtime.low
Of course - if any of the variables are not available, the appropriate condition is not checked. If you want to explicitly disable one of
the conditions, simply override the right hand variable causing the condition to always evaluate to false (you can even provide negative
numbers).
APC UPSes don't have battery.charge.low - you will have to define it if you want to use such condition (prefix the variable with override.
or default.).
"New" units have battery.runtime.low, but depending on battery quality, firmware version, calibration and UPS load - this variable can be
underestimated quite a bit - especially right after going into OB state. This in turn can cause LB to be asserted, which under normal
conditions will cause NUT to initiate the shutdown. You might want to disable this condition entirely, when relying on ignorelb option
(this was actually the main motivation behind introduction of such feature).
Simple example:
[apc]
ignorelb
override.battery.charge.low = 15
override.battery.runtime.low = -1
This would cause apcsmart to go into shutdown only if detected battery charge < 15%. Runtime condition is always false in this example.
You could ask - why bother ? Well, the reason is already hinted above. APC units can be very picky about the batteries, and their firmware
can underestimate the remaining runtime (especially right after going into OB state). ignorelb option and override.* let you remain in
control of the UPS, not UPS in control of you.
Furthermore, this allows to specify conditions similary to how it's done in apcupsd daemon, so it should be welcome by people used to that
software.
SUPPORTED INSTANT COMMANDS
The apcsmart driver exposes following instant commands:
shutdown.return
executes soft hibernate
shutdown.return cs
executes "force OB hack"
shutdown.return at:<nbr>
executes "hard hibernate" with <nbr>*6 minutes additional wakeup delay (<nbr> format is the same as of awd option)
shutdown.stayoff
executes "delayed poweroff"
load.off
executes "instant poweroff"
All the above commands must be issued 2nd time to have any effect (no less than 3 seconds, and no more than 15 seconds after the initial
call). Those commands are mostly useful for manual testing, when your machine is not powered by the UPS you're testing.
Other supported commands:
o load.on
o test.panel.start
o test.failure.start
o test.battery.start
o test.battery.stop
o bypass.start
o bypass.stop
o calibrate.start
o calibrate.stop
BUGS
Some older APC UPS models return bogus data in the status register during a front panel test. This is usually detected and discarded, but
some other unexpected values have occasionally slipped through.
APC UPS models with both USB and serial ports require a power cycle when switching from USB communication to serial, and perhaps vice
versa.
AUTHOR
Nigel Metheringham <Nigel.Metheringham@Intechnology.co.uk> (drawing heavily on the original apcsmart driver by Russell Kroll). This driver
was called newapc for a time and was renamed in the 1.5 series. In 2.6.2 it was renamed to apcsmart-old, being superseded by updated
version with new features, which is maintained by Michal Soltys <soltys@ziu.info>
SEE ALSO
nutupsdrv(8), ups.conf(5)
Internet resources:
The NUT (Network UPS Tools) home page: http://www.networkupstools.org/
Network UPS Tools 05/21/2012 APCSMART(8)