UPS Daemon 1.0 for eComStation

UPS Daemon 1.0 for eComStation

Please read this entire document to understand

the function of UPS Daemon.

This version of UPS Daemon is for contact closure

type interfaces through RS-232 comm ports and 

supports UPS like APC (simple signaling), Belkin,

Tripplite, IBM, CyberPower, etc.

NOTE: You must determine the proper command line

switches before running UPSDAEM.EXE. Improper

switches may start a system shutdown within 20

seconds. If that happens, UPSDAEM.EXE can be

terminated by pressing CTRL Q.

Contents:

1. Installation

2. UPS Daemon Command Line Switches

3. UPS Daemon Log File

4. CAUTION

5. Running UPS Daemon

6. Displaying UPS Status - UPSCONFIG.EXE

7. Legal

8. Contact

9. History

1. Installation

Copy the files to any new folder on your system.

UPSDAEM.EXE is the main executable. UPSCONFIG.EXE

is a configuration program to help set command line

switches for UPSDAEM.EXE. Once proper command line

options have been determined, use the included

STARTUPSD.CMD to start UPSDAEM.EXE from within the

Start-up folder. See remarks inside STARTUPSD.CMD

for more information.

2. UPS Daemon Command Line Switches

UPSDAEM.EXE [-comx] [-ACfn] [-LBn] [-SDn] [-NoLog] [-OFF] [-ES] [-X] [-H]

-comx  x = 2-5 (COM2 through COM5; default if omitted is COM1)

-ACfn  AC Fail polarity is negative (positive if this switch is omitted)

-LBn   Low Battery polarity is negative (positive if this switch is omitted)

-SDn   UPS Shutdown polarity is negative (positive if this switch is omitted)

-NOLOG Turn UPS event log off (log events if this switch is omitted)

-OFF   Turn UPS off after shutdown (default is no UPS turn off)

       Use to turn UPS off after OS shutdown. Some UPS do not supported this.

-ES    Use this option for APC Back-UPS ES models only.

-X     Don't shutdown operating system. To be used for testing only

       AND computer power is NOT connected to UPS outlets.

-H     Shows help.

Command line switches are case insensitive. You may use - or / as

option separator.

Pressing CTRL Q will quit UPS Daemon.

Timing Details:

UPSDAEM UPS status polling rate:

  - every 5 seconds when no AC Fail. 

  - every 1 second during AC Fail.

Timed shutdown:

20 seconds after AC Fail has been detected.

Should a low battery alarm be detected during AC fail,

then UPSDAEM will shut down system within 6 seconds.

AC Fail and Low Battery alarm detected: 10 seconds to shutdown.

UPSCONFIG polling rate of UPSDAEM status: every 4 seconds

3. UPS Daemon Log File

UPSMON.LOG file is a plain text file and is located in the

same folder where upsdaem.exe is running at. All power events

are logged along with time and date. This log is not checked

for size and continues growing in size until manually deleted.

4. CAUTION

NOTE: You must determine the proper command line

switches before running UPSDAEM.EXE. Improper

switches may start a system shutdown within 20

seconds. If that happens, terminate UPSDAEM.EXE by

pressing CTRL Q.

5. Running UPS Daemon

By default, the UPSDAEM.EXE selects positive AC Fail

and positive Low Battery polarity. This prevents

the UPSDAEM.EXE from activating shutdown when

started into an unconnected serial port.

Most UPS require negative AC Fail and Low Battery

polarity. Make sure the UPS is properly connected

to the serial port and powered up before running

UPS Daemon with the negative polarities.

UPSDAEM.EXE is a VIO program handling all interfacing

to the UPS. Use STARTUPSD.CMD to run UPSDaem.exe from

the Start-up folder once the proper command line switches

have been determined. See STARTUPSD.CMD for more information.

UPS Daemon needs to know your UPS signal polarity. This is

a manual process and can't be done automatically because

of the simple nature of the interface. You can use

UPSCONFIG.EXE to find out the correct command line parameters.

First, connect your UPS to a free serial port. Then simply

run UPSDAEM.EXE -COMx where -COMx is the serial port you

have the UPS connected to (i.e. UPSDAEM -COM2). If UPS

Daemon displays "Power failure detected" terminate it by

pressing CTRL Q. Add -ACfn to the UPSDAEM.EXE command line

(i.e. upsdaem -COM2 -ACfn). Run UPSDAEM.EXE again and no

power failure should be detected.

If you get a "Low battery alarm" at this point, add -LBn

to the command line of UPSDAEM.EXE.

Once you get no power failure or low battery alarm, it is

time to test the UPS for real. Pull the plug on the UPS and

check if UPSDAEM.EXE reports a power failure. This will take up

to 5 seconds to detect. If a power failure is detected, plug the

UPS in again. You are done!

If no power failure is detected, re-check the signal polarity.

There is also a possibility that your UPS may not be supported.

Test shutdown by unplugging the UPS for 20 seconds.

UPS Daemon will shut down the operating system.

Inspect the UPSMON.LOG with a text editor for entries.

The command line options can now be edited into the STARTUPSD.CMD

start up script.

6. Displaying UPS Status - UPSCONFIG.EXE

This GUI program lets you select various command line

options and then starts UPSDAEM to test them. If

UPSDAEM is already running, UPSCONFIG will stop

and restart it with the new settings.

The selected command line parameters are displayed

in the text box and can be highlighted and copied

to the clipboard. (Use CTRL-INS to copy,

SHIFT-INS to paste)

UPS power line (on line, power fail) and battery status

(low battery) is displayed with this program as well.

All *.dat files contain preconfigured and tested settings for

certain UPS models. Use File - Open UPS Configuration

to select from different models. When UPSCONFIG is closed,

the chosen settings will automatically be saved to the file

default.dat and be reloaded the next time UPSCONFIG is used.

New icons have been added. Only upsdaem.ico is currently used

as the main program icon. Others can be used to indicate

AC fail, low battery, error or shutdown with eCenter. Using

a REXX button widget works well for that porpose.

7. Legal

UPSDAEM.EXE and UPSCONFIG.EXE are copyright

2005 by Lone Peak Automation, LLC.

Tests with these programs have been successfully completed on

a limited amount of hardware platforms and software configurations.

However, we do not guarantee proper operation on all possible

configurations UPSDAEM.EXE and UPSCONFIG.EXE can run on.

You are on your own should this program cause damage to data,

equipment or personnel.

UPSDAEM.EXE and UPSCONFIG.EXE are freeware.

All icons are provided by Eugene Gorbunoff.

8. Contact

Email: LPAInfo@att.net

Website: http://home.att.net/~LPAInfo/upsmonitor.html

Include upsdaem log file, UPS brand and model when reporting errors.

9. History

March 8, 2004  0.9   Initial test release.

June 15, 2004  0.9d  Fixed crash when started from Start-up folder.

                     Added icons.

Jan 6, 2005    1.0   Fixed start-up crashes for good - don't

                     start UPSDAEM from within Start-up folder

                     directly, rather use STARTUPSD.CMD script.

                     Removed alternate language support as msgc 

                     did not perform as expected.

                     Extended expiration until end of 2005.