Network UPS Tools

A while ago I ranted about the installation of APC's Powerchute Network Shutdown for Linux. While I got it working, the 60Mb+ of memory footprint used by the Java VM always seemed ridiculous to me, specially for a daemon that doesn't do much more than wait for a shutdown command.

Today I needed those 67Mb of RAM because the kernel on an old-timer began oomkill'ing my processes. A quick search yielded NUT, that works just fine with the Network Management card of Smart-UPS 3000, using the SNMP module.

Here's what I did on the Debian machine.

1. Install packages nut and nut-snmp

# aptitude install nut nut-snmp

2. Create /etc/nut/ups.conf:

[apc1]
      driver = snmp-ups
      mibs=apcc
      community=public
      port = apc1.mydomain
      desc = "APC1 UPS Network Management Card"

Notice that "port" is the hostname or IP of your APC network card.

3. Start the UPS driver to see if it is working:

# upsdrvctl start

Network UPS Tools - UPS driver controller 2.0.4
Network UPS Tools - Multi-MIBS SNMP UPS driver 0.41 (2.0.4)
Warning: This is an experimental driver.
Some features may not function correctly.

detected Smart-UPS 3000 RM on host apc1.mydomain

4. Create an empty upsd.users file for now:

 echo "" > /etc/nut/upsd.users

5. Create upsd.conf:

ACL all 0.0.0.0/0
ACL localhost 127.0.0.1/32

ACCEPT localhost
REJECT all

6. Start the server:

# upsd
Network UPS Tools upsd 1.5.12
 Connected to UPS [apc1]: snmp-ups-apc1.mydomain
 Synchronizing...done

7. Run the upsc utility to test the daemon:

# upsc apc1@localhost ups.status
TRIM   # OBS: Should have been "OL" but it seems Energy Australia wasn't cooperating.

# upsc apc1@localhost
battery.charge: 100.0
battery.charge.low: 120
battery.charge.restart: 30
battery.runtime: 840.0
driver.name: snmp-ups
driver.parameter.mibs: apcc
driver.parameter.port: apc1.q-free.com.au
driver.version: 2.0.4
driver.version.internal: 0.41
input.frequency: 050.0
input.sensitivity: 4
input.transfer.high: 253
input.transfer.low: 208
input.voltage: 250.0
output.current: 000.0
output.voltage: 221.0
output.voltage.target.battery: 230
ups.delay.shutdown: 180
ups.delay.start: 0
ups.firmware: 666.6.I
ups.load: 042.0
ups.mfr: APC
ups.mfr.date: 09/26/06
ups.model: Smart-UPS 3000 RM
ups.serial: JS0640013695
ups.status: TRIM
ups.temperature: 025.0
ups.test.result: 1

8. At this point it seems that all is working fine. Edit the upsd.users file:

[monuser]
password = mypass
allowfrom = localhost
upsmon master

9. Edit your upsmon.conf file and remember to set a MONITOR line:

(...)
MONITOR apc1@localhost 1 monuser mypass master
(...)

Check the examples for the other configuration directives.

10. Restart using the init script to make sure:

# /etc/init.d/ups-monitor restart
Restarting Network UPS Tools: upsdrvctl upsdrvctl upsd upsmon.

Check that the processes are running:

# ps auwx | grep ups
nut      22030  0.0  3.6   4540  2260 ?        Ss   16:19   0:00 /lib/nut/snmp-ups -a apc1
nut      22032  0.0  1.1   1732   728 ?        Ss   16:19   0:00 /sbin/upsd
root     22034  0.0  1.1   1724   680 ?        Ss   16:19   0:00 /sbin/upsmon
nut      22035  0.0  1.2   1724   736 ?        S    16:19   0:00 /sbin/upsmon

Have a look at the log files; they should look similar to:

# tail /var/log/syslog
Jun 13 15:52:08 localhost snmp-ups[22030]: Startup successful
Jun 13 15:52:08 localhost upsd[22031]: Connected to UPS [apc1]: snmp-ups-apc1.mydomain
Jun 13 15:52:08 localhost upsd[22032]: Startup successful
Jun 13 15:52:08 localhost upsmon[22034]: Startup successful
Jun 13 15:52:08 localhost upsd[22032]: Connection from 127.0.0.1
Jun 13 15:52:08 localhost upsd[22032]: Client monuser@127.0.0.1 logged into UPS [apc1]

If that didn't work, have a look at your /etc/default/nut file - make sure the "START_" variables are set to yes.

I managed to get it running using NUT's install instructions. These are the basic things to get it running; I recommend reading the rest of the documentation to finish your set-up.