apcupsd-ups: Override battery.charge.low

[Jonn3y]

Hey,

i tried to setup Freenas as slave using a RaspberryPi on the UPS with apcupsd as master.

Now I want to override the charge.low value. But it seems like it is not possible with the apcupsd-ups driver?

What am I doing wrong?

ups.conf:

[ups]
    driver = apcupsd-ups
    port = 10.0.10.51:3551
    desc = "SMT1500I"
    ignorelb =
    override.battery.charge.low = 30

root@freenas:~ # upsc ups

battery.charge: 40.0
battery.charge.low: 5          <-------- value from Master config: apcupsd.conf
battery.runtime: 4020.0
battery.runtime.low: 180
battery.voltage: 25.6
battery.voltage.nominal: 24.0
device.mfr: APC
device.model: Smart-UPS 1500
device.type: ups
driver.name: apcupsd-ups
driver.parameter.pollinterval: 60
driver.parameter.port: 10.0.10.51:3551
driver.parameter.synchronous: no
driver.version: 2.7.4
driver.version.internal: 0.04
ups.date: 2019-11-02
ups.firmware: UPS 08.3
ups.firmware.aux: ID=18
ups.id: SMT1500I
ups.mfr: APC
ups.mfr.date: 2012-06-14
ups.model: Smart-UPS 1500
ups.status: OL
ups.time: 17:58:45

And yes i could modify the apcupsd.conf but that's not what i want.
Freenas should shutdown earlier than the other clients.

Greetings

[clepple]

You did restart the apcupsd-ups driver on the FreeNAS box after changing ups.conf, correct?

If not, I'm wondering if there was some sort of parse error on ignorelb = - usually we recommend just ignorelb.

I don't have things set up to test that driver right now, and nothing is jumping out at me when I look at the code. If the above two suggestions don't work, please stop the driver, and manually restart it with debug level 2 or more (e.g. # /usr/local/libexec/nut/apcupsd-ups -DD -a ups > /tmp/apcupsd.log 2>&1). We probably only need the first few seconds.

[Jonn3y]

You did restart the apcupsd-ups driver on the FreeNAS box after changing ups.conf, correct?

Well, i just did service nut restart, does it restart the apcupsd-ups driver ?

If not, I'm wondering if there was some sort of parse error on ignorelb = - usually we recommend just ignorelb.

replaced ignorelb = with ignorelb , nothing changed

---

Logs:
root@freenas:~ # /usr/local/libexec/nut/apcupsd-ups -DD -a ups > /tmp/apcupsd.log 2>&1
Ambiguous output redirect.

root@freenas:~ # /usr/local/libexec/nut/apcupsd-ups -DD -a ups >& /tmp/apcupsd.log
and
root@freenas:~ # cat /tmp/apcupsd.log

   0.000000     debug level is '2'
   0.223968     using 'battery.charge' to set battery low state
   0.223983     using 'battery.runtime' to set battery low state
   0.224072     dstate_init: sock /var/db/nut/apcupsd-ups-ups open on fd 4

Feels like the log should be longer,?!

[clepple]

Well, i just did service nut restart, does it restart the apcupsd-ups driver ?

Theoretically, if FreeNAS is using the same startup scripts as FreeBSD Ports. It should call nut_poststop() and nut_prestart() in /usr/local/etc/rc.d/nut, and those restart the driver through upsdrvctl.

I was looking at the wrong line for the debug level. You'll need -DDDDD. (As you noticed, there is not much debug output from the apcupsd-ups driver. I'm looking for output from dstate.c)

[Jonn3y]

Theoretically, if FreeNAS is using the same startup scripts as FreeBSD Ports. It should call nut_poststop() and nut_prestart() in /usr/local/etc/rc.d/nut, and those restart the driver through upsdrvctl.

/usr/local/etc/rc.d/nut looks good

I was looking at the wrong line for the debug level. You'll need -DDDDD. (As you noticed, there is not much debug output from the apcupsd-ups driver. I'm looking for output from [dstate.c]

root@freenas:~ # cat /tmp/apcupsd.log

   0.000000     send_to_all: SETINFO driver.parameter.port "10.0.10.51:3551"
   0.000038     send_to_all: SETINFO driver.flag.ignorelb "enabled"
   0.000054     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.charge.low "30"
   0.000061     send_to_all: SETFLAGS battery.charge.low
   0.000075     debug level is '5'
   0.000893     send_to_all: SETINFO device.type "ups"
   0.000903     send_to_all: SETINFO driver.version "2.7.4"
   0.000911     send_to_all: SETINFO driver.version.internal "0.04"
   0.000919     send_to_all: SETINFO driver.name "apcupsd-ups"
   0.000930     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.charge.low
   0.109113     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.mfr "APC"
   0.109141     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.time "23:35:43"
   0.109152     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.date "2019-11-02"
   0.109174     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.id "SMT1500I"
   0.109203     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.model "Smart-UPS 1500 "
   0.109219     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.status "OL"
   0.109240     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.charge "100.0"
   0.109254     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.runtime "7620.0"
   0.109268     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.charge.low "5"
   0.109281     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.runtime.low "180"
   0.109303     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.voltage "26.8"
   0.109335     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.mfr.date "2012-06-14"
   0.109362     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.voltage.nominal "24.0"
   0.109375     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.firmware "UPS 08.3"
   0.109383     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.firmware.aux "ID=18"
   0.109413     send_to_all: DATAOK
   0.109423     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.serial
   0.109433     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.time
   0.109440     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.date
   0.109446     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.mfr.date
   0.109452     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.firmware
   0.109458     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.firmware.aux
   0.109464     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.id
   0.109473     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.charge
   0.109479     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.charge.low
   0.109486     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.voltage
   0.109492     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.voltage.nominal
   0.109497     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.runtime
   0.109503     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.runtime.low
   0.220392     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.time "23:35:43"
   0.220412     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.date "2019-11-02"
   0.220440     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.id "SMT1500I"
   0.220486     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.charge "100.0"
   0.220499     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.runtime "7620.0"
   0.220513     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.charge.low "5"
   0.220527     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.runtime.low "180"
   0.220548     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.voltage "26.8"
   0.220580     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.mfr.date "2012-06-14"
   0.220607     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.voltage.nominal "24.0"
   0.220619     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.firmware "UPS 08.3"
   0.220628     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.firmware.aux "ID=18"
   0.220655     using 'battery.charge' to set battery low state
   0.220663     using 'battery.runtime' to set battery low state
   0.220744     dstate_init: sock /var/db/nut/apcupsd-ups-ups open on fd 4
   0.220755     send_to_all: SETINFO driver.parameter.pollinterval "60"
   0.220762     send_to_all: SETINFO driver.parameter.synchronous "no"
   0.220770     send_to_all: SETINFO device.mfr "APC"
   0.220779     send_to_all: SETINFO device.model "Smart-UPS 1500 "
   0.220795     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.serial
   0.220802     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.time
   0.220808     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.date
   0.220814     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.mfr.date
   0.220820     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.firmware
   0.220826     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.firmware.aux
   0.220832     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.id
   0.220841     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.charge
   0.220847     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.charge.low
   0.220854     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.voltage
   0.220860     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.voltage.nominal
   0.220866     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.runtime
   0.220872     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.runtime.low
   0.330730     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.time "23:35:43"
   0.330749     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.date "2019-11-02"
   0.330774     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.id "SMT1500I"
   0.330824     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.charge "100.0"
   0.330838     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.runtime "7620.0"
   0.330852     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.charge.low "5"
   0.330865     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.runtime.low "180"
   0.330887     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.voltage "26.8"
   0.330918     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.mfr.date "2012-06-14"
   0.330945     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.voltage.nominal "24.0"
   0.330958     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.firmware "UPS 08.3"
   0.330966     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.firmware.aux "ID=18"
  60.234799     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.serial
  60.234828     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.time
  60.234836     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.date
  60.234843     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.mfr.date
  60.234849     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.firmware
  60.234856     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.firmware.aux
  60.234863     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.id
  60.234872     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.charge
  60.234879     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.charge.low
  60.234886     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.voltage
  60.234892     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.voltage.nominal
  60.234898     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.runtime
  60.234904     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.runtime.low
  60.701323     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.time "23:36:47"
  60.701350     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.date "2019-11-02"
  60.701374     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.id "SMT1500I"
  60.701426     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.charge "100.0"
  60.701441     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.runtime "7620.0"
  60.701454     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.charge.low "5"
  60.701468     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.runtime.low "180"
  60.701490     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.voltage "26.8"
  60.701522     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.mfr.date "2012-06-14"
  60.701550     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.voltage.nominal "24.0"
  60.701563     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.firmware "UPS 08.3"
  60.701572     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.firmware.aux "ID=18"
 120.279483     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.serial
 120.279513     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.time
 120.279522     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.date
 120.279529     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.mfr.date
 120.279536     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.firmware
 120.279542     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.firmware.aux
 120.279549     send_to_all: DELINFO ups.id
 120.279559     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.charge
 120.279566     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.charge.low
 120.279573     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.voltage
 120.279580     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.voltage.nominal
 120.279586     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.runtime
 120.279592     send_to_all: DELINFO battery.runtime.low
 120.390566     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.time "23:37:46"
 120.390586     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.date "2019-11-02"
 120.390612     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.id "SMT1500I"
 120.390659     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.charge "100.0"
 120.390673     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.runtime "7620.0"
 120.390687     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.charge.low "5"
 120.390701     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.runtime.low "180"
 120.390724     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.voltage "26.8"
 120.390756     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.mfr.date "2012-06-14"
 120.390783     send_to_all: SETINFO battery.voltage.nominal "24.0"
 120.390796     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.firmware "UPS 08.3"
 120.390805     send_to_all: SETINFO ups.firmware.aux "ID=18"

doesn't look like there is any override happening with a value of 30

[clepple]

Argh, I forgot that this driver does a dstate_delinfo() on all of the variables each time it polls. The override only gets set on the initial battery.charge.low, then it gets deleted.

[Jonn3y]

Oh wow, yeah i see it. set on line 3 correctly, deleted override with the wrong values.
Is there a way to stop the driver from doing it?

[clepple]

In general, dstate_delinfo() should respect the ST_FLAG_IMMUTABLE flag that the override.* vars set. I'll create a separate issue for that.

You might be able to change DU_FLAG_NONE to DU_FLAG_INIT (on the battery.charge.low line) in drivers/apcupsd-ups.h. Do you have a way to rebuild the driver on FreeNAS?

[Jonn3y]

Do you have a way to rebuild the driver on FreeNAS?

I'm not sure if FreeNAS allows that. Because of its appliance state it's not designed to install compilers and other packages the way i know it from debian/apt-get ...
maybe i should not give it a try on my productive system. I'll not know what i'm doing exactly

[clepple]

I think people have had success with finding the corresponding FreeBSD version, building NUT there, and copying the binaries over to FreeNAS [citation needed]. But probably best not to experiment without a backup system.

[Jonn3y]

You might be able to change DU_FLAG_NONE to DU_FLAG_INIT (on the battery.charge.low line) in drivers/apcupsd-ups.h. Do you have a way to rebuild the driver on FreeNAS?

Well, was kinda confusing to compile nut (or the apcupsd-ups driver) on FreeBSD 11.1 but i did it.
replaced /usr/local/libexec/nut/apcupsd-ups with the new one. chmod 0555 apcupsd-ups && service nut restart and it works!

battery.charge.low is now on 30, awesome!

I'll test if the shutdown at 30% battery capacity works as expected tomorrow.

[clepple]

Cool. If you wouldn't mind, could you please create a wiki page with any tips on compilation, or links that you used? Feel free to use the Debian/Ubuntu one as a model: https://github.com/networkupstools/nut/wiki/Building-NUT-on-Debian,-Raspbian-and-Ubuntu

I will try to figure out whether we can add DU_FLAG_INIT for everyone - I think it might cause confusion if a given apcupsd connection doesn't expose battery.charge.low - but it might be fairly straightforward for us to modify the code to only delete a variable if it is really gone from apcupsd.

[Jonn3y]

Done, it's not perfect and my english language skills might not be perfect, but this is what i did:
https://github.com/networkupstools/nut/wiki/Building-NUT-on-FreeBSD

I could share my compiled apcupsd-ups driver if needed.