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Solved
Connecting UPS to ReadyNAS
I am unable to connect my ReadyNas 314 to an APC - SMT1500 UPS (PowerChute- Business Edition). I am connected to PowerChute with my desktop via USB. I have the UPS on the network and I can ping it. ...
Sp4 wrote:What I'm trying to accomplish here is I want my ReadyNAS to be commanded to shut down when local power drops and the UPS is running on battery. Is their a way that I can accomplish this?
So a real network card isn't an option for your UPS model?
As I said in my initial response, you can do what you want using NUT. With NUT, one device is connected to the UPS via USB or serial port and is the master. Other devices powered by the same UPS can be slaves to that device since only one can talk directly to the UPS via USB or serial. The master must be always on and the last thing powered down, obviously, so that's usually the NAS. And NUT is what the ReadyNAS has built in. So instead of connecting the UPS USB to your PC, connect it to the NAS. Then install NUT on the PC, configure the NAS to allow other users to monitor its UPS, and set up the PC to do just that.
That does mean you no longer can use PowerChute with the UPS since APC offers no Linux version except the insanely expensive enterprise version, but you would still have SmartConnect to see anything that NUT doesn't give you insight into.
See https://networkupstools.org/
As a tidbit, Eaton does have a Linux version of it's monitoring software, and one instance can be master and others slaves. But it still works out better to use a network card for multiple devices.
Sp4 wrote:Sandshark Yes, I do have an option for a real network card. What is the purpose of the network card? The NAS and PC are on the same switch and the UPS would be communicating to the NAS via USB as the master. Just want to make sure I understand before I order a network card for my UPS. Thank you.
A network card eliminates the need for NUT on the PC completely, as it has an SMTP host plus, normally, a proprietary protocol for talking to proprietary software like PowerChute (I've not done enough research to verify APC has this, but I can't imagine it doesn't). And nothing other than the UPS needs to be on to be the "master". Just network equipment has to be on, as StephenB said. So you can continue to use PowerChute on your PC (via network or USB) and then set the NAS to use SMTP as you were originally attempting to do. I don't have any APC UPS with a network card, so I don't know if you get any additional information or capability in PowerChute via USB than network, but I would think not. A small advantage of USB, though, would be if the switch, router, etc. failed, you'd still have communications for the PC with the UPS.
If neither the PC nor the NAS is on continuously, then the network card for the UPS is the definite way to go. Otherwise, you can try NUT first and see if it meets your need. But I see some fairly inexpensive APC network cards on eBay and I'd probably just go for that if I were in your shoes.
My Eaton UPS has three power "segments" that can have different power-down schemes, and the devices on each segment are set up to shut themselves down accordingly using NUT or IPP (Eaton's equivalent to PowerChute) except the "dumb" devices like switches. I have the backup NAS , any "sandbox" NAS that happen to currently be on, a rack-mount PC, and the PoE switch that powers my surveillance cameras on one, and it shuts down first to reduce the load. That's not my main PC, so you may want to put it in a different spot in your scheme. My main NAS is on the next segment to shut down, and the remaining network equipment is on the last. It is then set to power up in reverse order when power is restored, after a wait to see it's going to last. Since each device can monitor the UPS directly, nothing but the network needs to have been on or stay up for the rest of the scheme to work.
In my case, all of that is in a rack in another room, and I can still use IPP to monitor and control the UPS from my main computer and have another UPS on that computer. So that's another advantage of the network card, though it doesn't sound like you'll make use of that capability and the cloud capability of your NAS seems like it can do that, and maybe even more.
Yes, the network card is definetly cheaper on eBay. I like the USB sugestion in case a switch fails. I'll give it some thought. I'll get the card ordered and be sure to return to this thread and let you guys know how it went or if I need additional assistance.
Thanks again!
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