[TriLUG] Re: UPS (was linksys stuff)

[Jeff Groves]

Mike Hrivnak posted:....
========================
>I want to get a UPS connected to my mandrake server at home, but there's 
a
>dillema.  I want to know how you folks handle this.
>
>Add a UPS into the mix, and I guess I would want it to wait a minute or 
>two in case power comes back, then tell the server to shutdown safely.
>But, then what happens when the power comes back on?  I'd be happy to 
wire
>the power switch on the computer to the UPS, but is that 
>possible/reasonable?  I don't want the power to come on while the server 
>stays off until someone gets around to turning it back on.
>
>How should I handle this?
>
========================

My solution was to install APC's PowerChute Business Edition (PBE) Agent 
on my Linux machine and use the PBE server to maintain the start-up and 
shutdown of the server; unfortunately, the PBE Server runs only on 
Windows (sorry).   

Another disadvantage is that the PBE Server machine also has to be on an 
APC UPS.

The software was free for download at one time from APC, but it only let 
you have 5 concurrent agents managed by the server.  I still have the 
install files if want to go this less-than-optimal route.

The PBE Console software lets you connect to the server remotely where you 
can reboot machines gracefully, change the conditions under which each 
machine will power off, and display a graph of the power quality on each 
of the UPSs you configured and connected to a computer running the agent 
(among other things).

As for the power-on issue that you mentioned, most newer machines have a 
BIOS setting that lets you tell the machine to either stay turned-off 
after power is removed from the machine or to turn back on when power is 
restored to the machine.  Take a look in your BIOS settings... it should 
be there.

Thanks,

Jeff G.


-- 
========
Jeffrey A. Groves
  Web Site: http://www.krenim.org/