This work was done in August. Since then, I have replaced the APC with an Eaton 5PX, and I am much happier.
This might make for interesting reading, but that depends on how bored you are..
Following on from my failed calibration attempts, I thought I would try it again this morning before work.
In this post:
- APC UPS SUA2200RM2U with a AP9619 Network Management card
- LibreNMS 1.66
- FreeBSD 12.1
Before
It’s 1132 UT and knew has just shutdown. That has stopped the battery charge lights on the UPS from flashing. I initiated that shutdown at about 1130 UTC.
I have shutdown acpupsd on all hosts. They are all networked together so that the host directly connected to the UPS will inform the others that it is time to shutdown.
But first
I now think I can run apctest and start a calibration test without the hosts shutting down. I think there is a chance that the pfSense host may shutdown, but I’m OK with that. That is the host from which I am running apctest.
[2.4.5-RELEASE][admin@bast.int.unixathome.org]/root: apctest 2020-08-17 11:46:56 apctest 3.14.14 (31 May 2016) freebsd Checking configuration ... sharenet.type = Network & ShareUPS Disabled cable.type = USB Cable mode.type = USB UPS Driver apctest FATAL ERROR in apctest.c at line 313 Unable to create UPS lock file. If apcupsd or apctest is already running, please stop it and run this program again. apctest error termination completed
But I stopped apcupsd. I know I did. Through the webui.
[2.4.5-RELEASE][admin@bast.int.unixathome.org]/root: ps auwwx | grep apc root 99645 0.0 0.2 13136 3860 - Ss 11:40 0:00.35 /usr/local/sbin/apcupsd root 73251 0.0 0.1 6560 2292 0 S+ 11:47 0:00.00 grep apc [2.4.5-RELEASE][admin@bast.int.unixathome.org]/root:
But it is running, and it started about 9 minutes ago. That may be about the time I stopped it.
I killed it:
[2.4.5-RELEASE][admin@bast.int.unixathome.org]/root: date Mon Aug 17 11:48:24 UTC 2020 [2.4.5-RELEASE][admin@bast.int.unixathome.org]/root: kill -TERM 99645 [2.4.5-RELEASE][admin@bast.int.unixathome.org]/root: ps auwwx | grep apc root 14896 0.0 0.1 6560 2292 0 S+ 11:48 0:00.00 grep apc [2.4.5-RELEASE][admin@bast.int.unixathome.org]/root:
Self test
I ran a test self:
[2.4.5-RELEASE][admin@bast.int.unixathome.org]/root: apctest 2020-08-17 11:50:16 apctest 3.14.14 (31 May 2016) freebsd Checking configuration ... sharenet.type = Network & ShareUPS Disabled cable.type = USB Cable mode.type = USB UPS Driver Setting up the port ... Doing prep_device() ... You are using a USB cable type, so I'm entering USB test mode Hello, this is the apcupsd Cable Test program. This part of apctest is for testing USB UPSes. Getting UPS capabilities...SUCCESS Please select the function you want to perform. 1) Test kill UPS power 2) Perform self-test 3) Read last self-test result 4) View/Change battery date 5) View manufacturing date 6) View/Change alarm behavior 7) View/Change sensitivity 8) View/Change low transfer voltage 9) View/Change high transfer voltage 10) Perform battery calibration 11) Test alarm 12) View/Change self-test interval Q) Quit Select function number: 2 This test instructs the UPS to perform a self-test operation and reports the result when the test completes. Clearing previous self test result...CLEARED Initiating self test...INITIATED Waiting for test to complete...TEST DID NOT COMPLETE
However, if I log into the webui for the UPS, I see indications that the self-test did pass.
I see the time is off: it looks to be non-UTC and off by about an hour.
Calibration time
I have decided to run the calibration test.
1) Test kill UPS power 2) Perform self-test 3) Read last self-test result 4) View/Change battery date 5) View manufacturing date 6) View/Change alarm behavior 7) View/Change sensitivity 8) View/Change low transfer voltage 9) View/Change high transfer voltage 10) Perform battery calibration 11) Test alarm 12) View/Change self-test interval Q) Quit Select function number: 10 This test instructs the UPS to perform a battery calibration operation and reports the result when the process completes. The battery level must be at 100% and the load must be at least 10% to begin this test. Battery level is 100% -- OK Load level is 1220% -- OK Clearing previous self test result...CLEARED The battery calibration should automatically end when the battery level drops below about 25%. This process can take minutes or hours, depending on the size of your UPS and the load attached. Initiating battery calibration...INITIATED Waiting for calibration to complete... To abort the calibration, press ENTER. Battery level: 100%..
The time is now 1157 UTC.
That load level at 1220%? What? I think that’s a bug in the apctest code. There is no way this UPS is overloaded by a factor of 12.
1204 UTC
I just noticed the top light on the battery charge lights go out.
The apctest output now shows:
Battery level: 100%.............................................
I have set the UPS time and changed it to UTC:
UTC 1206
Wow, down to one flashing light.
Battery level: 100%...........................................................
The webui says 30.5% load and battery capacity is at 20%.
UTC 1210
Battery level: 100%..............................................................................
Oh, that time change
I now wonder if my time change stopped the calibration test.
I hit ENTER, and stopped the calibration. Now I will wait for the battery to get back up to 100% and run the test again.
Time is 1216 UTC.
At 1311 UTC, battery is at 65% with 9.7% load. All servers are powered off to get back to max battery charge ASAP.
1322 UTC: 72%
1343 UTC: 86%
1402 UTC: 100%
Let’s wait another hour.
I’ve powered on two servers. Load is now 32% and battery capacity is 100%.
The second calibration test
The second calibration test started at 1539 UTC
I received this email from the UPS:
Name : ups01 Location : Bottom of rack01 Contact : dan@langille.org http://ups01.example.org http://10.2.0.13 Serial # : ZA05053457 Device Ser #: YS04151267 Date: 08/17/2020 Time: 18:05:43 Code: 0x0123 Informational - UPS: Started a runtime calibration.
1806 UTC – control c’d out of apctest
The UPS was not on battery during the test. I suspect the test was not being run, despite what apctest showed.
Instead, I initiated the test from the webui. Immediately the battery started to show decreased capacity, indicating it was on battery, not mains power.
1813 UTC – now at 43% battery capacity. The test goes to 25%.
1816: 21% Calibration done.
I received this email from the UPS:
Name : ups01 Location : Bottom of rack01 Contact : dan@langille.org http://ups01.example.org http://10.2.0.13 Serial # : ZA05053457 Device Ser #: YS04151267 Date: 08/17/2020 Time: 18:15:36 Code: 0x0124 Informational - UPS: Completed a runtime calibration.
Now waiting for battery to charge to 100%
1840 UTC: 39%
1919 UTC: 66%
2007 UTC: 99%
2041 UTC: 100% starting another calibration, this time with all servers running
2044 UTC: 92%
2047 UTC: 29%
2047 UTC: 16%
WTF? and a 50% load.
