100 lines
3.4 KiB
Plaintext
100 lines
3.4 KiB
Plaintext
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NUT outlets management and PDU notes
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====================================
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NUT supports advanced outlets management for any kind of device that proposes
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it. This chapter introduces how to manage outlets in general, and how to take
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advantage of the provided features.
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Introduction
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------------
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Outlets are the core of Power Distribution Units. They allow you to turn on,
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turn off or cycle the load on each outlet.
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Some UPS models also provide manageable outlets (Eaton, MGE, Powerware,
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Tripplite, ...) that help save power in various ways, and manage loads more
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intelligently.
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Finally, some devices can be managed in a PDU-like way. Consider blade systems:
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the blade chassis can be controlled remotely to turn on, turn off or
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cycle the power on individual blade servers.
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NUT allows you to control all these devices!
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NUT outlet data collection
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--------------------------
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NUT provides a complete and uniform integration of outlets related data,
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through the 'outlet' collection.
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First, there is a special outlet, called 'main outlet'.
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You can access it through 'outlet.{id, desc, ...}' without any index.
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Any modification through the 'main outlet' will affect *all* outlets.
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For example, calling the command 'outlet.load.cycle' will cycle all outlets.
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Next, outlets index starts from *1*. Index '0' is implicitly reserved to
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the 'main outlet'. So the first outlet is 'outlet.1.*'.
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For a complete list of outlet data and commands, refer to the
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<<nut-names,NUT command and variable naming scheme>>.
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An example upsc output (data/epdu-managed.dev) is available in the source
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archive.
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NOTE: The variables supported depend on the exact device type.
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Outlets on PDU
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--------------
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Smart Power Distribution Units provide at least various meters, related to
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current, power and voltage.
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Some more advanced devices also provide control through the 'load.off',
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'load.on' and 'load.cycle' commands.
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Outlets on UPS
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--------------
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Some advanced Uninterruptible Power Supplies provide smart outlet management.
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This allows to program a limited backup time to non-critical loads in order
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to keep the maximum of the battery reserve for critical equipment.
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This also allows the same remote electrical management of devices provided
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by PDUs, which can be very interesting in Data Centers.
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For example, on small setup, you can plug printers, USB devices, hubs, (...)
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into managed outlets. Depending on your UPS's capabilities, you will be able to
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turn off those loads:
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- after some minutes of back-up time using 'outlet.n.delay.start',
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- when reaching a percentage battery charge using
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'outlet.n.autoswitch.charge.low'.
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This will ensure a maximum runtime for the computer.
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On bigger systems, with bigger UPSs, this is the same thing with servers
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instead of small devices.
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NOTE: If you need the scheduling function and your device doesn't support
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it, you can still use
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<<Advanced_usage_scheduling_notes,NUT scheduling features>>.
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WARNING: don't plug the UPS's communication cable (USB or network) on a managed outlet.
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Otherwise, all computers will be stopped as soon as the communication is lost.
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Other type of devices
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---------------------
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As mentioned in the introduction, some other devices can be considered and managed like
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PDUs. This is the case in most blade systems, where the blade chassis offers
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power management services.
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This way, you can control remotely each blade server as if it were a PDU
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outlet.
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This category of devices is generally called Remote Power Controls - RPC in NUT.
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