mrcharles
5456c783c6
Deploy Network UPS Tools to monitor the server-room UPS units and feed data to
Home Assistant for power-usage tracking.
APC Smart-UPS C 1500 is fully operational: battery charge, runtime, load,
voltage, and status all reporting via usbhid-ups + APC HID 0.100 subdriver.
upsd listens on Tailscale (100.121.189.98:3493) for HA polling; local upsmon
provides graceful hypervisor shutdown on battery-low.
Key deployment fix: the udev rule must cover SUBSYSTEM=="usb" (raw
/dev/bus/usb) in addition to hidraw, because usbhid-ups opens the raw USB
device file after dropping to the nut user via setuid(). Matching only hidraw
causes EACCES on driver start.
Tripp Lite UPS (09ae:3016) is blocked — driver matches TrippLite HID 0.85
subdriver but fails reading the 878-byte HID Report Descriptor (EAGAIN via USB
hub). Needs physical reseat to direct motherboard USB port. Driver masked to
prevent restart-loop spam.
Files: ups/discover.sh, ups/setup.sh (idempotent), ups/status.sh, ups/README.md
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165 lines
6.5 KiB
Markdown
165 lines
6.5 KiB
Markdown
# UPS Management (NUT — Network UPS Tools)
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Centralized UPS monitoring for the server room via
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[NUT](https://networkupstools.org/), running on **pfv-tsys1**. USB HID UPS
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units feed one `upsd` network server; Home Assistant polls it over Tailscale for
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real-time power/load/runtime tracking, and a local `upsmon` shuts the hypervisor
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down gracefully when battery is low.
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> **Why NUT (not apcupsd)?** Two different UPS brands (APC + Tripp Lite) must be
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> covered. `apcupsd` only supports APC, so it would require a second daemon
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> stack. NUT's `usbhid-ups` driver speaks to **both** via the USB HID Power
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> Device class, and Home Assistant ships a first-class NUT integration.
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## Hardware
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| UPS | Model | VID:PID | USB Serial | Status |
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|-----|-------|---------|------------|--------|
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| **APC** | Smart-UPS C 1500 (FW 02.2) | `051d:0003` | `AS1213210423` | **LIVE** |
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| **Tripp Lite** | UPS (HID PDC) | `09ae:3016` | `2352CVLSM871900694` | **Blocked** — see below |
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## Current State (2026-07-30)
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### APC Smart-UPS C 1500 — OPERATIONAL
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Fully reporting via `usbhid-ups` + `APC HID 0.100` subdriver. Data validated:
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```
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battery.charge: 100 battery.runtime: 1800 battery.voltage: 27.4
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ups.status: OL ups.load: (via HA) ups.model: Smart-UPS C 1500
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```
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### Tripp Lite UPS — BLOCKED (hardware issue)
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The driver finds the device, matches the `TrippLite HID 0.85` subdriver, claims
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the interface, and reads the HID descriptor — but **fails reading the 878-byte
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HID Report Descriptor** (`Resource temporarily unavailable` / EAGAIN after 5s).
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The driver is masked to prevent restart-loop spam.
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USB descriptors (manufacturer, product, serial) are readable via `lsusb -v` and
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`nut-scanner`, but the bulk control transfer for the full report descriptor
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times out. Likely causes:
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1. **USB hub** — the Tripp Lite is behind a Genesys Logic hub (`05e3:0608`).
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Try plugging directly into a motherboard USB port.
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2. **USB cable** — try a high-quality data cable (not charge-only).
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3. **UPS firmware** — the USB controller may not properly implement all HID
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endpoints.
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**To retry after physical reseat:**
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```bash
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# On pfv-tsys1:
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systemctl unmask nut-driver@tripp-lite-ups
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systemctl start nut-driver@tripp-lite-ups
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upsc tripp-lite-ups@localhost
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```
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## Architecture
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```
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pfv-tsys1 (192.168.3.11 / Tailscale 100.121.189.98)
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├─ APC Smart-UPS C 1500 ──┐
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└─ Tripp Lite UPS (masked) ──┤ USB HID
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▼
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nut-driver@apc-smartups-c1500 (usbhid-ups)
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▼
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upsd :3493 (LISTEN 127.0.0.1 + Tailscale)
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▼ ▼
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upsmon (local) Home Assistant (NUT integration)
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graceful shutdown power/load/runtime sensors
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```
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- **Driver layer** — `usbhid-ups` process, pinned by USB serial. Debian uses
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templated `nut-driver@<upsname>.service` units managed by
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`nut-driver-enumerator`.
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- **Server layer** — `upsd` exposes UPS data on TCP 3493 (localhost + Tailscale
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only). Clients authenticate via `upsd.users`.
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- **Monitor layer** — `upsmon` runs locally as `master` to trigger
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`SHUTDOWNCMD` (`/sbin/shutdown -h now`) when a UPS reports `LOWBATT`.
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- **Home Assistant** — native NUT integration connects to `upsd` over Tailscale
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and exposes `ups.load`, `battery.runtime`, `ups.status`, etc. as sensors.
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### Key deployment lesson: udev must cover raw USB devices
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The `usbhid-ups` driver opens `/dev/bus/usb/BBB/DDD` (raw USB device files),
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**not** `/dev/hidraw*`. After calling `setuid(111)` to drop to the `nut` user,
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it needs write access to those raw USB files. The udev rule must match
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`SUBSYSTEM=="usb"` by vendor/product ID to set `GROUP="nut"` — matching only
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`hidraw` is insufficient. See `/etc/udev/rules.d/99-nut-ups.rules`.
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## Scripts
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All scripts run on the target host (pfv-tsys1) via `tests/remote.sh`:
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```bash
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# Idempotent install + configure (safe to re-run):
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PROX_HOST=pfv-tsys1 bash tests/remote.sh prox-file ups/setup.sh
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# Discover USB UPS + NUT state (read-only diagnostic):
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PROX_HOST=pfv-tsys1 bash tests/remote.sh prox-file ups/discover.sh
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# Query UPS data + service health:
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PROX_HOST=pfv-tsys1 bash tests/remote.sh prox-file ups/status.sh
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```
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`setup.sh` accepts environment overrides for serials/VIDs/PIDs/usernames, so it
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can be repurposed for other hosts or UPS units. Passwords for `monuser` and
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`homeassistant` are auto-generated on first run and reused on subsequent runs
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(stored in `/etc/nut/upsd.users`).
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Set `TRIPP_ENABLED=0` to skip the Tripp Lite entirely (useful if it's physically
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unplugged).
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## Configuration files on pfv-tsys1
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| File | Purpose |
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|------|---------|
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| `/etc/udev/rules.d/99-nut-ups.rules` | Grant nut group rw on raw USB + hidraw devices (both subsystems) |
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| `/etc/nut/ups.conf` | `usbhid-ups` device(s), pinned by serial + subdriver |
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| `/etc/nut/upsd.conf` | `LISTEN 127.0.0.1` + `LISTEN <tailscale>` on port 3493 |
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| `/etc/nut/upsd.users` | `monuser` (master) + `homeassistant` (read-only) credentials |
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| `/etc/nut/upsmon.conf` | Local master monitor + `SHUTDOWNCMD` |
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| `/etc/nut/nut.conf` | `MODE=netserver` |
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## Home Assistant integration
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In Home Assistant → **Settings → Devices & Services → Add Integration → NUT**:
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| Field | Value |
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|-------|-------|
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| Host | `pfv-tsys1` (or `100.121.189.98`) over Tailscale |
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| Port | `3493` |
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| Username | `homeassistant` |
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| Password | *(printed by `setup.sh` / stored in `/etc/nut/upsd.users`)* |
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| UPS | `apc-smartups-c1500` |
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HA auto-discovers available UPS names after authentication. Useful sensors for
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power-usage tracking: `sensor.apc_smartups_c1500_ups_load` (Watts, via `ups.load`
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× VA rating), `sensor.apc_smartups_c1500_battery_runtime`,
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`sensor.apc_smartups_c1500_ups_realpower`.
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## Daily operations
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From pfv-tsys1 (or any tailnet host with NUT client installed):
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```bash
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# List UPS units served by upsd
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upsc -l pfv-tsys1
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# Full variable dump for one UPS
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upsc apc-smartups-c1500@pfv-tsys1
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# Just the live load + runtime
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upsc apc-smartups-c1500@pfv-tsys1 ups.load
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upsc apc-smartups-c1500@pfv-tsys1 battery.runtime
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```
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## Notes
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- **No USB passthrough to the HA VM.** Keeping the UPS on the host preserves
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hypervisor graceful-shutdown capability and matches the `powerman/` pattern
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(PDU managed on the host where the adapter physically lives).
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- **Per-unit power (Watts):** `usbhid-ups` reports `ups.realpower` directly on
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the APC Smart-UPS C 1500. If absent, derive Watts as
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`load% × VA_rating × power_factor` in HA templates.
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