Power Backup

Overview

All the servers at the McNair Center are equipped with their own power backups that initiate automatic, safe shutdown in case of power failures. The UPS units are configurable, both for Linux and Windows Server Systems. This guide is essentially meant to help the IT maintainer to perform any maintenance necessary regarding power backup configuration, or, replace any unit in case of total failure.

Quick UPS Info

• Model : CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
• Capacity : 1500VA/900W
• Battery Type : CyberPower / RB1280X2A
• Full Recharge Time : 8 hours approx
• Warranty : 3 years(Covers the UPS and connected Equipment)
• Has its own LCD display
• For more details, it is recommended to check out the link above

Setup

Hardware Setup

Pretty straightforward

• Charge the UPS before you run anything on Battery Power. You can use the UPS immediately after shipping too, as long as you connect it to AC power first
• There are network ports on the UPS, in case we need network protection too. We haven't done so since this needs more internet research!
• There are two sets of power outlets:
  • Battery: Provides surge protection as well as battery backup during power failures. These are the 5 outlets located on the left side of the back panel of the UPS.
  • Full-Time Surge Protection: These are the 5 outlets located on the right side of the back panel. Only plug devices that need surge protection without battery backup.
• Use the USB cable supplied with the UPS to connect your server to it. The rear panel of the UPS has the special USB port that needs to be used for this purpose. DO NOT use the USB ports on the front panel for this.

Once this physical link is set up, we are ready to install the UPS software to enable automatic shutdown.

Software

• The powerpanel setup CD that ships with the UPS contains both the windows(.exe) and the Linux(.deb, .rpm, .tar) installers along with all the detailed instructions
• The latest version of the software can always be downloaded from the product website
• Installation for Windows:
  • Log into the RDP with an admin account(Only Ed, Ravali and Harsh have admin privileges on RDP)
  • Just insert the CD and run the setup.
  • Make sure that the powerpanel software is running with admin privileges, otherwise it won't let you configure/test anything.
  • Run the self test from the powerpanel software to ensure the UPS functions as intended and the batteries are all good.
• Installation for Linux Server:
  • I didn't want to use the wget command since I wasn't sure of the url from which to grab the setup (feel free to follow this path if you know what your'e doing).
  • Instead of wget, I used filezilla to manually upload the Linux setup folder found in the CD to my home directory in both the DB and Web servers. Again, you can use scp to upload the folder if you are comfortable with the command
  • Log into the servers and elevate yourself to root
  • Locate the folder you uploaded and cd into the deb subfolder
  • View the install guide using cat, vi, vim or emacs. you'l realize that the subsequent points are taken from the install guide anyways
  • dpkg -i powerpanel_1.3_amd64.deb since we are running a 64 bit server
  • pwrstat -test to run the UPS self test
  • pwrstat -config to see your settings
  • pwrstat -status to monitor the power backup status, battery capacity etc.