PowerChute Network Shutdown
Release Notes

 
These release notes provide important information about PowerChute Network Shutdown, including known software problems and their solutions (if any). For any additional troubleshooting, see http://swhelp.apcc.com/pcns/help/troubleshootingguide_EN.
 
Table of Contents
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General Problems On All Operating Systems
Problem/Issue:
Servers shut down and reboot continually when connected to the following Smart-UPS devices: SMT750, SMT1000, SMT1500, SMT2200, SMT3000, SMX750, SMX1000, SMX1500RM2U, SMX1500RM2UNC, SMX2000RMLV2U, SMX2200RMLV2U, SMX3000RMLV2U, SMX3000RMLV2UNC
Solution:
  1. Manually restart the UPS.
  2. If your Network Management Card firmware is version 5.0.3, you should only configure two PowerChute Network Shutdown events to shut down the UPS: On Battery and Low Battery.

Check the APC website for further Network Management Card firmware updates and releases.

Problem/Issue:
PowerChute Network Shutdown (PCNS) does not shut down when the UPS enters a bypass state that is caused by either a hardware or an internal fault.
Solution: Enable Bypass: For Maintenance on the PCNS Configure Events page and configure it to shut down your system.

Problem/Issue:
PCNS does not support Parallel Smart-UPS VT, prior to firmware v5.0.
Solution: Contact APC to obtain the latest UPS firmware for Parallel Smart-UPS VT.

Problem/Issue:
PCNS does not support Switched Outlet Group functionality.
Solution: Some UPS devices have Switched Outlet Group functionality that is configurable using the Network Management Card (NMC).

For example, it is possible to shut down, reboot or turn off a specific outlet group using the NMC. However, if the load is connected to that outlet group, PCNS will not shut it down gracefully.

The NMC can also configure an outlet group to switch off in response to an On Battery or Overload event. PCNS can detect these events and they can be configured to cause a shutdown but you must enable this in PCNS and the PCNS shutdown delay must be less than the Power Off delay configured for the outlet group.

If you intend to use this feature in the NMC you should disable the option "Turn off the UPS after the shutdown finishes" on the Configure Shutdown page in PCNS.

Problem/Issue:
After a power failure, your PCNS server shuts down repeatedly for no apparent reason.
Solution: This only happens with a Multiple-UPS configuration and when using the Network Management Card (NMC) firmware v3.2.x through v3.5.5.

Several things can trigger this problem after a power failure. For example, it could start happening after you manually turn off the power to one UPS in a configuration. Or it could start after a UPS has gone on battery and is turned off based on settings chosen on the Advanced Configuration page of the PCNS user interface.

To avoid this problem, disable the option to turn off a UPS when it goes on battery on the Advanced Configuration page of the PCNS user interface. In addition, you should not turn off a UPS manually, that is, using the UPS power switch.

To resolve this problem once it has started happening, you should reboot the NMC:

  1. Access the NMC user interface by using the NMC IP address as the URL.
  2. Click on the Administration tab.
  3. Click on the General button.
  4. Click the Reset/Reboot option on left.
  5. Select Reboot Management Interface on the Reset/Reboot Network Interface page and click Apply.

Problem/Issue:
When several actions are selected for the same event, and the actions all have the same delay time, some actions do not occur.
Solution: Threading issues in Java occasionally cause the actions to interfere with each other. Use different delay times for each action.

Problem/Issue:
During the installation, you receive an error message that PowerChute Network Shutdown (PCNS) is unable to register with the Network Management Card (NMC).
Solution: In some cases, the installation program registers PCNS with the NMC, but is unable to confirm that it is registered. Check the IP address list on the NMC by opening the NMC user interface and selecting the menu that relates to PCNS. If your computer IP address does not appear on the list of client IP addresses, add it.

Problem/Issue:
Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS) is not supported by PowerChute Network Shutdown.
Solution: None.

Problem/Issue:
When installing on Windows, Linux, VMware, and Solaris, the most recent update of Java Runtime Environment (JRE) is not installed.
Solution: Before installing or upgrading PowerChute Network Shutdown (PCNS), uninstall the current JRE on your system. Otherwise the PCNS installation program installs a JRE version that is valid and closest in number to the version already installed on your system (for example, if you currently have JRE 5.0 Update 11, the installation program would install JRE 5.0 Update 12, not 13).

Problem/Issue:
PowerChute Network Shutdown does not recognize a temperature or humidity probe on the AP9631 Network Management Card.
Solution: Switch the probe from the AP9631 Universal I/O port on the right (labelled 2) to the port on the left (labelled 1). PCNS will then recognize the probe.

Problem/Issue:
PowerChute Agent machines are shut down following an On Battery event on one UPS in a Parallel configuration: this happens even though the other UPS's can support the load.
Solution: This could be caused by a low shutdown delay time of 30 seconds or less if you have configured your system to shut down when the UPS's go on battery. If one UPS goes on battery in a Parallel configuration, it tries to transfer its load to the other UPS's, but a low delay time might not give it enough time to communicate with the PCNS system to accomplish this. Try increasing the shutdown delay time to be greater than 30 seconds; the default is two minutes.

User Interface on Internet Explorer and Other Web Browsers

Problem/Issue:
Updates to the PowerChute Network Shutdown configuration do not appear on the Configure Events page.
Solution: Memory caching can cause old versions of the Configure Events page to be displayed instead of the updated version. Refresh the frame, or disable caching on the Web browser.

Problem/Issue:
Occasionally, after you enter the user name and password, the user interface does not respond.
Solution: Select Stop and then Refresh.

Problem/Issue:
When launching the PowerChute Network Shutdown user interface using Internet Explorer 6 or 7 (or Firefox or Safari), you get a security or certification error.
Solution: You can ignore the error and continue safely.

 
Network Configuration

Problem/Issue:
After you remove PowerChute Network Shutdown, the Network Management Card (NMC) still has the server IP address.
Solution: Check the IP address list on the NMC by opening the NMC user interface and selecting the menu that relates to PCNS. If your computer IP address appears on the list of configured client IP addresses, remove it.

Problem/Issue:
PowerChute Network Shutdown is already installed, and you want to monitor a different Network Management Card.
Solution: Use the stand-alone configuration utility described in PowerChute Network Shutdown Configuration Utility in the Installation help.

 
Event Configuration and Logging

Problem/Issue:
Updates to the PowerChute Network Shutdown configuration do not appear on the Configure Events page.
Solution: Memory caching can cause old versions of the Configure Events page to be displayed instead of the updated version. Refresh the frame or disable caching on the Web browser.

Problem/Issue:
PowerChute Network Shutdown has an event for "Bypass: For Maintenance" but no event for a bypass caused by a UPS fault.
Solution: The "Bypass: For Maintenance" event occurs in response to a UPS bypass, but not to a manual bypass.

Problem/Issue:
"Battery: Removed" and "UPS Module: Removed" events are logged in the PowerChute Network Shutdown event log when you remove the Main Intelligence Module from the Symmetra Power Array.
Solution: No action is required. PowerChute Network Shutdown recalculates the number of batteries and modules each time the Main Intelligence Module is removed and replaced.

 
Windows

Problem/Issue:
Command files do not run properly when called by PowerChute Network Shutdown. The command file stops before all of the statements have executed.
Solution: The command file must use the @START command to run executable programs, and use the full path name of the program. Path names that include spaces must be enclosed in quotes. Arguments for the executable must be outside the quotes.  

For example, if you must run HyperTerminal and Backup in your command file, use the syntax:

@START "c:\Program Files\Windows NT\hypertrm.exe" arguments
@START c:\Winnt\system32\backup  arguments

Problem/Issue:
A PowerChute Network Shutdown client that acquires its IP address through DHCP will lose communications with the Network Management Card when the client renews its DHCP address lease and acquires a different IP address.
Solution: Each system using PowerChute Network Shutdown must have a permanent IP address. Reserve IP addresses in DHCP by using the MAC address, so that they never change for specified machines.

Problem/Issue:
After installing PowerChute Network Shutdown, a directory called tmpjex01 (or a similar name) is in the Temp directory or at the root.
Solution: Delete this directory.

Problem/Issue:
After a graceful shutdown by PowerChute Network Shutdown, the server fails to turn on when utility power is restored.

Due to changes in the power management feature in Windows XP SP1 and Windows 2003, some servers with an ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) BIOS will not turn on when utility power is restored after an outage. The following is an example of what may occur:

  • A server is attached to an APC UPS and running PowerChute Network Shutdown. PowerChute Network Shutdown is configured to shut down the operating system when the UPS has been on battery for a specific time.
  • When the utility power fails, causing the on-battery event, PowerChute Network Shutdown commands the operating system to shut down gracefully.
  • Because ACPI power management is controlled by the operating system rather than by the BIOS, when the operating system completes its graceful shutdown, it commands the server to turn off.
  • The UPS remains on battery until its shutdown delay time has expired. When utility power is restored, the UPS provides power; the server does not turn on.
Solution: At this time, there are no updates available for this issue. Check Windows Update for the latest updates and service packs for your operating system.

Problem/Issue:
You are unable to install the software, or the software is not working properly.
Solution: Both of these problems can be caused by not having Administrator privileges for the network while installing the software. You need Administrator privileges to install the software properly.

 
Mac OS X

Problem/Issue:
The PowerChute Network Shutdown (PCNS) Web user interface sometimes opens without asking for a user name and password.
Solution: Quit Safari every time you log off the PCNS user interface to prevent this security issue.

Problem/Issue:
When installing PCNS, the command window remains open after the installation.
Solution: Close the command window manually.

 
AIX

Problem/Issue:
You cannot access PowerChute Network Shutdown using a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connection.
 
Solution: Enable the Use TLS 1.0 option in your browser. Like SSL, TLS 1.0 is an encryption protocol and is usually found under the Advanced set of options for both Internet Explorer and Firefox. Searching your browser help contents will enable you to find it. On Internet Explorer 6, for example, it is found under Tools - Internet Options - Advanced tab - Security section.

 
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10

Problem/Issue:
With HTTPS enabled, you cannot access the PowerChute Network Shutdown (PCNS) user interface remotely using the HTTP port. This can occur when trying to access through a Web browser or when using the Connected Servers page on another PCNS interface.
 
Solution: Edit the /etc/hosts file and put a comment mark before each 127.X.X.X loop back address EXCEPT the 127.0.0.1 address. Alternatively, you can move all the 127.X.X.X loop back addresses EXCEPT the 127.0.0.1 address to below the line that contains the actual system IP address.
 
For example, in a /etc/hosts file which has both 127.0.0.2 and 127.0.0.1, do one of the following:

  • Put a a # symbol at the start of the 127.0.0.2 line while leaving the 127.0.0.1 line.
  • Move the line containing 127.0.0.2 to below the actual system IP address line (containing an actual address such as 192.168.2.200).
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 server

Problem/Issue:
The PowerChute Network Shutdown Configuration Utility does not work on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 server (v5.0, v5.1, v5.2).
 
Solution: Install the appropriate rpm package for your system, as shown in the table below. These packages are available on the Red Hat installation CD or DVD and on the Red Hat Network, https://rhn.redhat.com/.

Itanium systems libXp-1.0.0-8.1.el5.ia64.rpm
32-bit systems libXp-1.0.0-8.1.el5.i386.rpm
64-bit systems libXp-1.0.0-8.1.el5.x86_64.rpm

 
VMware

Problem/Issue:
Your virtual machine does not shut down gracefully or the shutdown does not initiate.
 
Solution: This is an issue that is recognized by the VMware® company. You need to configure your virtual machines to shut down. Please refer to the workaround published by VMware (KB Article 1008182) on their Web site.

 

 

 

 

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