Re: Question: UPS connectivity over solaris via USB

From: Dave (nospam_at_nowhere.com)
Date: 03/25/05 

Date: Fri, 25 Mar 2005 16:36:50 +0000

DW wrote:
> Hey, all.
>
> Not sure whether this is a better question for a Solaris group or here,
> but oh well.
>
> I'm considering getting a small UPS for an E200 server I recently
> bought.
>
> This server has no USB, and the UPS I'm looking at has _only_ USB.
>
> Assuming I can get an after-market USB card running under Solaris 10,
> will UPSD communicate over USB?
>
> Yes, I know that getting a UPS with straight serial would be more
> straightforward, but that one's double the price. ;-)
>
> Thanks!
>
> DW
>

Something I have done, which might be usable, is to put a device (such
as switch, hub ... or anything else with an ethernet port) into the
mains (not on the UPS). Then ping that periodically periodically from
your Sun. If you get no answer to the ping, assume the power has gone
down, and shut down after a period if there are no pings returned.

Using this, you need no USB or serial.

Not elegant, but it does work. At least it works here were power
failures occur far more frequently than network faults. Of course, you
can't read the battery voltage, so you have to guess at a time to shut
down. I actually shut down pretty quickly here, as the 6kW UPS is used
to boil a kettle, use the microwave etc. Hence I keep the UPS power for
more important things (this is a home computer), so keeping it running
is not a high priority. I keep the webserver running all the time
though, as that is only an old SS20, which uses far less power than a
quad processor U80.

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