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NOV-UPS.DOC -- 19980208 -- Email thread on Uninterruptible Power Supplies
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Date: Wed, 6 Dec 1995 12:55:33 -0600
From: Joe Doupnik <JRD@CC.USU.EDU>
Subject: Re: UPS

>>I need to find out info on UPS' and which ones work the best
>>with Netware 3.12.  Where might I find this info?  Thanks.
>
>Well, I haven't created a file on this, but can "opinionate" a
>couple of things.
>
>(1) Get an "online" ups versus an off-line unit that tries to jump
>    in when needed.  The online units also "condition" ("average"
>    or "clean-up") the power and will get rid of problems like "random"
>    unexplained crashes and stuff...in short, you'll sleep better.
>
>(2) Get a ups that interfaces with NetWare...many do.
>
>(3) Get a "big battery"...especially if you have NDS, which seems to
>    cause a few headaches if the time/replicas gets out of sync...also,
>    the extra capacity will keep you up longer if the power is out for
>    an extended period...many ups's will stay up until battery level
>    or so many minutes have expired, then they will do a graceful
>    shutdown (watch out for NLMs that freak out when shut down by
>    other NLMs...)
>
>Anyone have specific vendors/experiences pro or con?  I'll create
>a file on this if enough respond.
-------------
	Rules of thumb. UPS' are rated for so many VA (volt-ampere product)
for a short length of time. The short length of time is about 5 minutes
at full load, about 10-15 min at half load, and so on. The most comfortable
figure is run at 1/3 load to obtain 20-25 minute running time.
	For a server think of 650VA units and above, much preferrably above.
	VA is more than Watts, so inflate "Watts" by 30%.
	Of the UPS' I've used I much prefer the APC SmartUPS units. They
catch tiny line glitches which others let through, they run well and are
very well built. The Powerchute software is ok, though it is getting well
out of hand on size. It works.
	The SmartUPS units output a sinewave. Lesser units emit a trapezoidal
or even a square wave. Most equipment is happy with any of these waveforms,
but not all tolerate non-sinewaves (so check by testing).
	If all the smart stuff is too much for you then try a step down
where the chatter is less but the server protection is exactly the same.
	Batteries have finite lifetime. About 3-4 years is the replacement
interval. The cooler they stay the longer they last.
	Joe D.
	Disclaimer. Although the above comments are based on technical
features, I have done beta work for APC.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 6 Dec 1995 21:51:42 -0500
From: "Larry C. Hansford" <hansford@ERINET.COM>
Subject: Re: UPS

On Wed, 6 Dec 1995, Floyd Maxwell wrote:
>>I need to find out info on UPS' and which ones work the best
>>with Netware 3.12.  Where might I find this info?  Thanks.
>
>Well, I haven't created a file on this, but can "opinionate" a
>couple of things.
<snip>

I agree with all the above.  We use APC Smart UPS and their Power Chute
software.  The Smart UPS conditions the power and adds battery boost during
brownouts, as well as providing good power during outages.  The Power Chute
software monitors the condition of the UPS, performs periodic self tests
(at times determined by the Admin), and performs orderly shutdown of the
server when the batteries reach a predetermined level of charge remaining.

There are other good UPSes on the market, but we have tried to standardize
so it is easy to maintain everything.  APC also provides a good warranty
and repair.  We had one struck by lighting, and they sent a new one to
replace it.  Only had to return the dead one.  BTW, it stopped the
lightning before it hit the server.

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 29 Dec 1995 13:18:00 MET
From: "Arthur B." <arthur-b@ZEELANDNET.NL>
Subject: Re: UPS protection

>HELP! What is the best UPS protection to save data and server against
>electricity blackouts and what is the normal cost for it?

The best UPS protection would be a combination of hardware and software
that will do, at least, the following:

- keep the fileserver from crashing (long enough to let it auto shutdown)

- has software that can always auto shutdown the server and close every
  open file before it does so

- cleans up the electricity (no spikes, surges, etc)
  most UPS's can handle too much electricity, some can handle too little
  as well

- has a test for testing the condition of the batteries
  (batteries will get less and less powerful over the years, so make
  sure you have enough reserve when you begin)

- the batteries auto charge

- if the UPS fails it lets you know (by sound and message)

- is from a brand with a great name and great support

Personal preference:

- UPS is connected to an electricity group on which there aren't any
  heavy or too many machines connected (or else, when the power comes
  back, there is so much electricity needed that the fuses blow)

What it costs?

Depends on the system you want to protect.

Eg: you have a fileserver and a external CD-tower.

You will only need to connect those devices to the UPS which
(if cutting the power on it suddenly) makes auto-shutting the
fileserver impossible.

Add up the needed power and add a extra 25%.

Say: 500 Watt. Determine how long the UPS-software needs to auto
shutdown the fileserver and double that time (say: 10 min.).

In this case you look for an UPS that can give 500 Watt for 10 min.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 31 Dec 1995 09:21:50 -0800
From: "David F. Severski" <davidski@HALCYON.COM>
Subject: Re: UPS protection

>>HELP! What is the best UPS protection to save data and server against
>>electricity blackouts and what is the normal cost for it?
>
><Nice UPS Requirements Discussion Snipped>
>
>I have a question of my own.
>I have this database-engine (Progress) running as a NLM on it.
>It advices to type in SHUTDOWN before DOWNing the fileserver.
>Now which UPS-software can auto shutdown this?
>Haven't really looked much in this problem, so it could be that it's
>a normal feature.

   The latest version of APC's PowerChute plus software has this
capability.  In fact you can tie in all sorts of script files, external
commands, etc. to all kinds of different events, low power, battery
failure, temperature change, etc.  Check it out via http://www.apcc.com/

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 25 Jan 1996 03:21:14 GMT
From: Steve Kurz <skurz@NORFOLK.INFI.NET>
Subject: Re: What does UPS.NLM do?

>I have an Elgar(tm) IPS560 UPS that I'd like to interface with my 4.1
>server.  It has a 25-pin female connector; however, there is a plate
>on that back that says, "Pins 1, 2, 14 & 15 are non-standard voltages.
>Use only the cable provided with the FS2 failsafe software package."

Sorry, can't help you with that one.

>Elgar seems to be out of business.  Does anyone have the FS2 failsafe
>software package?  I'd like to interface this baby, but then again, I'd
>rather buy a new UPS than risk connecting it to my Compaq server.

IMHO, go get yourself an APC UPS with Powerchute. You can't go wrong.

>Does UPS.NLM require third party software, or will it run on it's own?
>Can anyone explain UPS.NLM's main screen?:

The UPS NLM was written to interface certain UPS to the fileserver. All that
it did was to shut the fileserver down in case of a power failure. It did not
monitor the UPS, only a open/closed condition if a signal line. There was no
power or battery monitoring. See next paragraph.

>Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) types:

Not really UPS types. More like UPS interface types.

>    1- DCR

Probably mean DCB or Disk Controller Board. It had a mini plug for UPS
monitoring. Just on or off type monitoring.

>    3- STANDALONE

An ups with a dedicated interface card. Early UPSs had this type of interface

>    4- KEYCARD

Some early implementations of NetWare required a "keycard", which was a
hardware card that was placed in a slot of the fileserver. It contained the
"key" for the serialization of the software. No keycard - no fileserver. It
also contained a mini-plug interface to the ups (like the DCB)

>    5- MOUSE

Some UPS manufacturers has a serial cable that you could plug into the PS/2
type mouse connectors for the UPS interface. Same as the DCB and keycard.

>    6- OTHER

Other than the above. Usually determined by the manufacturer. I supposed your
Elgar fits here. By the way, I think Elgar was purchased by Emerson, who no
longer manufactures UPS systems.

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 19 Apr 1996 22:42:38 -0600
From: Joe Doupnik <JRD@CC.USU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Recovering After Power Outage: How to Plan?

>This weekend the power in our building will be off most of Sunday, so
>Saturday we will go in and down the servers, turn everything including
>UPSes off.  But my stomach is tied up in knots thinking about what is not
>going to come back on Monday morning.  What horrible things should I be
>thinking about in particular?
>
>I know next to nothing about our router except that it is a Cisco and the
>manuals, which are pretty unreadable, are dated 1992.  I don't know how
>the router is configured (no documentation or notes from previous
>admin anywhere) or even how to turn it on and off.  Do routers have to be
>downed?  Do they require any special skills to be brought back into
>service?  How can I find out before unplugging things how it is
>configured?  Fo that matter, how can I find out after revving everything
>back up again how it is configured?
>
>Also, what happens to hubs during/after power outages?  Ours are HP
>Ethertwist, six of them daisy chained together.
>
>Finally, will the T1 line do what it is supposed to do when the power
>comes back on and we try to access it?  Can anybody help me get
>focused on how to prepare or at least what to look for when we come in
>Monday morning to a dead network?
---------
	Friday night (when your message arrived here) is kinda late in
the game to plan for a Sunday outage, but here goes.
	Graceful shutdowns are preferred so go round and shut down the
small boxes and leave the Cisco til last. All the electronics ought to
be powered off, even the hubs and UPS' (don't let the batteries run
down flat). Turn off the CSU/DSU's for the T1. Basically power down
all (means all) the electronics; CSU/DSUs take care of themselves
upon power up.
	Login into the Cisco via Telnet from any place and follow the
menus. You may wish to call Cisco for step by step instructions; it is
a wise step.
	Once power is restored to the site, and you are sure it will
stay up (Tuesday my area goes black from 11pm til 7am), then bring up
the Cisco first, then the hubs, and so on down to the sundry UPS' and
computers.
	If luck is with you all will be fine. Else it's going to be
a problem solved best by finding the reluctant electronics and dealing
with its particular problem. We can't predict them, alas.
	To be super careful, make known good backups of machines (and
remove the tapes from the drives before turning off power).
	The critical point in all this is when mains power returns. Often
it comes up as a rapid series of spikes as contacts bounce and inductors
cause wild voltage swings. It's those that kill equipment. That's why we
wait to see if the guys really mean business and aren't just "testing"
the on-state and catch us with our power switches up.
	If in more doubt about the site call your manager and get folks
in who dimmly recall how matters are arranged. There should have been
a nice thick notebook with wiring plans, network diagrams, addresses,
whatnot for emergency repairing. If none then this becomes an important
project to complete.
	Joe D.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 9 Sep 1996 09:45:09 -0600
From: Joe Doupnik <JRD@CC.USU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Lightning damage??

>>>Does anyone out there have any comments about what kind of damage
>>>lightning can do to a server  which is already protected with UPS but
>>>whose NIC isn't so protected?
>>>
>>>The reason I ask is I've been getting some GPPE's after a storm and some
>>>damage was definitely incurred on the telephone switchboard, modems,
>>>notebook transformers and hubs.
>>>
>>>These days, the 3.12 server will abend unexpectedly with GPPEs and I
>>>always have to do a vrepair before I can mount the SYS volume, which is
>>>the only volume the server has.
>>------------
>>	It's pretty obvious, isn't it. The other equipment was damaged
>>and so can be your server and clients. The extent is not predictable.
>>Replacement is the only sure cure.
>	Joe D.
>
>Check your documentation on UPS, we found a couple at our installation
>that the manual clearly said they where UPSs, not for protection of power
>surges.  I have also been told some surge protector will not stop lightning
>strikes, because of the speed in which lightning bolts/surges travel.
----------
	Fellas, nearby lightning strikes generate electromagnetic fields of
high intensity and which radiate. This is very different than thinking of
signals politely going down wires in the way that surge suppressors and UPSs
can deal with. Such fields travel on the outside of things, into tiny
openings and worse. Your power wiring is merely that much more of an
antenna. Such propagation is insidious and the damage is not predictable.
Give it up; replace the machine because it is beyond trustworthy
expectations.
	Joe D.

---------

Date: Mon, 9 Sep 1996 09:08:29 -0800
From: Mark Schoonover <Mark_Schoonover@CCMAIL.SGO.SONY.COM>
Subject: Re: Lightning damage??

What kind of damage can lightning do? From your description, it
looks like you're the victim of an indirect hit. I've been in
buildings in the south where communication antennas have taken direct
hits -- only to watch the charge travel around the radio room on a 1"
copper strap that ran around the perimeter, dropping off molten globs
of copper, and watching 2" ceramic standoff insulators literally
explode into fragments. It's all over in a split second. Luckily, all
of the equipment was secured from the mains and antenna feedlines, so
we didn't suffer any equipment damage. For kicks, I mounted one of
those little neon bulbs at the feed point of a simple dipole antenna
-- only to watch it flicker when a electrical storm was passing by.
The point is -- the only way to make an attempt to protect your
equipment from a strike is to not have it connected to power, or LAN
when a storm is approaching. For an excellent lightning detector --
just turn on your AM radio. If you hear the static crashes -- time to
think about disconnecting.

---------

Date: Mon, 9 Sep 1996 12:47:27 -0600
From: Joe Doupnik <JRD@CC.USU.EDU>
Subject: Re: More Lightning

>And I ask: (Probably our trusted EE friend Joe D.)
>
>What is the _best_ that responsible network managers can do to protect
>network/comms gear, including nodes/terminals, from damage?  Earth grounds
>on racks?  Continuous grounds on circuits? Equipment grounds to rack?
-------------
	An honest answer for lan managers is: unplug all wires from boxes,
leave nothing to behave as an antenna either. That is not foolproof because
the fields are propagating ones and can/will zap electronics whether powered
on or off or disconnected or otherwise. Lan managers are in no position to
implement an acceptable Faraday cage (complete electrostatic shield) nor
filter all wires nor plug all openings to the levels required to guarantee
protection.
	Reality says lightning does not strike closely very often at all, but
when it does get that bad we are faced with "an act of nature" and eat the
consequences. Surge suppressors on AC mains power is a good first step, but
by no means guaranteed security; they are a joke for propagating fields such
as from nearby lightning strikes.
	Do NOT go around creating "grounds" because 99.99% of you haven't
the slightest idea of propagation effects (there is no such thing as a real
ground, plan accordingly, this isn't 50/60Hz stuff). By trying to help
you may not only make matters worse (adding more pathways for induction)
but also introduce significant human safety hazards.
	All equipment is normally connected to a safety ground to prevent
human injury during normal operations. Ask Richard Letts to tell you about
the rules he must follow (I've seen his test gear). If in doubt about AC mains
configurations contact a licensed electrician.
	Joe D.

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 8 Nov 96 06:44:24 -0800
From: Randy Grein <rgrein@halcyon.com>
To: "NetWare 4 list" <netw4-l@bgu.edu>
Subject: Re: UPS.NLM

>I'm wondering if anyone knows whether IntraNetware's UPS.NLM works well
>with an APC SmartUPS 400, ie: do you get any kind of advanced monitoring
>with UPS.NLM or does it simply down your server after a set time? I read
>that the "advanced control functions are not supported by Novell's
>UPS.NLM".
>
>Does anyone know if this is true and, if so, does it also apply to
>IntranetWare's UPS.NLM?

No, advanced functions are NOT supported, there's no way to handle vendor
data in a general purpose NLM. What you might consider is switching to
the network enabled ups, that way you should still be able to shut both
servers down in the event of a power failure. In any case, I'd talk
directly to APC. They're happy to help with things like this.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 24 Jun 1997 16:10:06 +0100
From: Richard Letts <R.J.Letts@SALFORD.AC.UK>
Subject: Re: Lightning Strikes - Protection Methodologies

I assume you're interested in protecting equipment from these, well
The way I look at it is pretty fatalistic.

1) make sure your insurance covers it.

2) run fibre between buildings

3) obey the coax ethernet grounding rules (fit protection devices)

4) put everything on an UPS/surge protector

5) make sure your insurance covers it

There's so much energy in a lighting strike that a direct strike
on a building is likely to fry all the protection you've put in place if
not the equipment itself. The best one can do is minimise the risks and
take out insurance.

Fortunately the UK isn't greatly known for the ferocity of its lightning
storms; the last direct strike we had here took out virtually every 3c501
left in that department, quite a few machines fried their power supplies.
[you don't only have to protect the network]

The loss of the 501's wasn't much of a problem since there are the
original etherlink cards... slow and deaf (they go deaf for a period
after receiving a packet)

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 18:18:34 -0600
From: Joe Doupnik <JRD@CC.USU.EDU>
Subject: Another cause of high server utilization/lockup

	I thought this episode might be useful at other sites.
	An INW4.11 server, nicely patched to current levels, was jumping
from a few or tens of percent cpu utilization to 60 or 95% and ignoring
network traffic. It happened maybe once per day or so, randomly, but
while the net was pretty active. In association was a three parallel port
HP JetDirect box (external) operating as a remote printer (not a queue
server). One of the three ports worked fine but another kept saying
the printer was off line. The off line status was false. When locked up
MONITOR said a very active process was pserver.nlm.
	Attempting to unload pserver.nlm led to nothing happening for
many many minutes. In most cases it unloaded and the server was normal,
yet in others the power had to be cycled to recover.
	I changed the HP JD box for a new one. The problem vanished.
The older JD box endured a massive mains power brown out and was not
on a UPS. The suspicion is the silicon in the JD box was damaged and
led to inappropriate queries or responses to the NW server, and from
there the server found a way to trap itself in a non-interruptable state.
Or pserver became too confused when faced with an off line printer
and pending requests. The channel of infection was likely pserver.nlm,
and thence perhaps to the innards of the o/s dealing with NCP requests.
At lock up time communications ceased to all outside world ports (including
the HP JD box). Different versions of pserver.nlm behaved alike.
	Joe D.

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 07:25:52 -0500
From: Bogdan POPESCU <bspopescu@PCNET.PCNET.RO>
Subject: UPS connection to NW410 server

>We have the situation where our UPS has no logical connection to the
>server. Indeed the UPS itself has no connections where sensing could be
>taken from!
>
>I have heard that UPS.NLM can be setup to look at a PS2 mouse or single pin
>on a serial port. The idea is that with suitable buffering I can sense the
>mains volts on the input side of the UPS and therefore shut the server down
>in an orderly fashion.

Your UPS hardware manufacturer should provide you with a driver for
that  to enable you the communication between UPS and server and
eventually a management software to configure the parameters for
downing the server, user prevention,etc.
You normally should connect the UPS to the COM1 of your server.
Then at the console load the following:

LOAD AIO
LOAD AIOCOMX
LOAD ups_driver.NLM configuration_files_path
(in my case I have an APC with pwrchute.nlm as the driver and the
configuration_files_path is sys:apcups\)

ups_driver.NLM shold be in the sys:system directory.

In the directory configuration_files_path the ups_driver should
find the INI files otherwise it won't run.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 19 Jan 1998 14:55:15 +0000
From: Dave Parkin <D.Parkin@icrf.icnet.uk>
Subject: One for the FAQ? - APC Software Upgrades

UPS manufacturer APC have now got free upgrades at:

	http://www.apcc.com/english/prods/sware/upgrd/

I've found in the past that apc have not made these available,
so get em while the going is good!

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 8 Feb 1998 09:34:45 +0100
From: Rainer Scheppelmann <RS@MERLIN.HB.UUNET.DE>
Subject: Re: NLM that reports temperatures, voltages, and fan speeds

>Is there an NLM that will read the temperatures, voltages, and fan
>speeds from these new Pentium II motherboards?  If this NLM writes
>the information to a log file, that would be even better.  I'm using
>a motherboard with an Award BIOS.

You might want to look at Tobit's Safe-T:

	http://na.tobit.com/~add-ons/index.htm

It doesn't connect to the motherboard's sensors but comes with its own
temperature sensors (4 to start with, connected via 8 bit card) and
is very expandable.

The NLM writes a logfile and there are drivers for other OSs, too.

------------------------------

