External Power Controllers: Configuration and Management
Intended for use with Cassatt Active Response V5.0.
Application nodes that do not have an integrated power controller that's supported by Cassatt Active Response can still take advantage of Cassatt Active Response node management by using an external power controller. After you configure and add an external power controller to Cassatt Active Response, Cassatt Active Response can use it to power nodes on and off.
This article describes what you need to know about configuring and managing external power controllers in Cassatt Active Response.
Recommended external power controllers
Cassatt recommends the external power controllers.
Vendor |
Description |
Required authentication |
APC |
APC7900, APC7901 or other APC switched-rack series that supports SNMP access with a minimum firmware version of 3.3. |
SNMP user name and authentication phrase |
Baytech |
Baytech RPC3DE or other Baytech RPC series that supports SNMP access with a minimum network controller board firmware version of 2.11.02 or higher. For issues with other versions see the sidebar Baytech issues.
To find out how to determine the Baytech network controller board firmware version, see the sidebar Finding the network controller board firmware version. |
SNMP Write Community |
| Cyber Switching Dualcom |
Cyber Switching Dualcom D1630ViBR or other series that supports SNMP. |
SNMP Write Community |
Upgrading firmware on some external
power controllers is not as simple as getting a download from a vendor site. Some
vendors introduce signficant delays by requiring you to contact their
support organization to get an update. Plan ahead if you need
to upgrade firmware.
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Supported configurations and limitations
The following table lists configurations and limitations associated with using external power controllers.
Does Cassatt Active Response support? |
|
External power controllers with any number of outlets. |
yes |
Mixing Cassatt Active Response power management options (integrated power controllers, external power controllers, and virtual power controllers) in the same Cassatt Active Response environment. |
yes |
Mixing external power controllers of different vendors in the same configuration without conflict. |
yes |
Automatic discovery of external power controllers.
Note: External power controllers are "discovered" by Cassatt Active Response using an IP address; if the external power controllers are on a network managed by Cassatt Active Response, you must reserve their IP addresses in the Controller. |
no |
Plugging in power cables from a node into more than one external power controller to eliminate the power source as a single point of failure.
Note: Remember, Cassatt Active Response is built to gracefully handle application node failures. |
no |
External power controllers that are partially-owned by Cassatt Active Response.
Note: Cassatt Active Response requires that external power controllers be totally owned by Cassatt Active Response. This avoids issues of configuration changes that could be made that would conflict with Cassatt Active Response. For example, necessary privileges might be removed from the userid used by Cassatt Active Response. |
no |
Connecting one external power controller into the outlet of another external power controller (daisy-chaining). |
no |
Connecting a node with an enabled integrated power controller to an external power controller. |
no |
External power controllers on Cassatt Active Response control nodes. |
no |
Cassatt Active Response and external power controllers: what you should know
This section describes some things you need to know about configuring and managing external power controllers.
Topic |
Description |
Either manual discovery or manual allocation is required |
Cassatt Active Response cannot automatically discover application nodes that are attached to external power controllers. Why? Because external power controllers do not know what nodes are plugged into them. Therefore, you'll need to add application nodes that use external power control manually, either via the Controller for dynamically-allocated nodes, or via the ccaddnode command for manually-allocated nodes. |
| Recommendation for configuring authentication |
External power controller types have different authentication requirements. For APC, the authentication is User Name and Authentication Phrase; for Baytech, it is Write Community.
Cassatt recommends configuring the same authentication for power controllers. For example, if you have 6 Baytech external power controllers, configure the hardware with the same authentication. This way, you can take advantage of setting up a default authentication (Discovered Pool > Properties > Power Controller Authentication below); defaults save you time because you don't have to specify authentication each time you add another external power controller of the same type.
If you do not set up default authentication information, you must enter it each time you add a new power controller (Discovered Pool > Power Controllers > New Power Controller):
|
 |
Recommendation for using outlets on an external power controller |
It is best not to put a high percentage of nodes on a single external power controller. For example, if you had an external power controller with 24 outlets, and you configured your domain with 24 nodes on that single external power controller and it fails, tiers would go critical with no chance of recovery. |
Make sure configuration entries match |
It is imperative that whatever settings you configure on the external power controller (IP address, authentication, network), match what you enter in Cassatt Active Response—or Cassatt Active Response will not be able to discover the external power controller. Same is true for nodes. Also, make sure the IP address for the external power controller matches the IP address of the network you are specifying. |
Recommendation entering for multiple external power controllers |
|
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Setup, configuration, and discovery
This section describes how to configure external power controllers for discovery.
Step 1: Cable hardware
Follow these steps to cable the hardware:
- Determine the network configuration for the external power controller:
- You can use any network outside Cassatt Active Response. In this case, connect your Ethernet cable and skip the rest of the preparation and cabling step, continuing with Step 2: Configuration.
- You can use any network that has been defined in Cassatt Active Response with a gateway address. For more information about networks and Cassatt Active Response, see Understanding Cassatt Active Response Network Manager.
- Connect the ethernet cable to a switch port that's in your selected network.
- Allocate an IP address within your selected network. If you allocate an IP address from the Cassatt Active Response network but outside the DHCP range, continue with the next step. If the IP address is inside the Cassatt Active Response network DHCP range or in another network managed by Cassatt Active Response, reserve the IP address in the Controller so that Cassatt Active Response does not assign it to another device.
Step 2: Configure network access and authentication
Cassatt Active Response requires that you configure network access to the external power controller and create a default user authentication on the external power controller. The same default user authentication must be configured in the Controller.
Follow these steps to configure network access and a default authentication for the external power controller. The steps reflect one model for each vendor; other vendors, models, and settings will vary.
Cassatt has observed delays when changing configuration settings in external power controller interfaces. Although the interfaces display that changes were successful, updates do not go into effect immediately. In one case, changing an authentication phrase took 3 minutes to go into effect. If you are certain you have correctly set up an authentication phrase, and Cassatt Active Response is not discovering the external power controller, waiting may be necessary.
The valid number of characters for authentication phrases vary from device to device. When you are creating authentication phrases, make sure you are not getting errors. If you do get an error, sometimes the errors are not intuitive; check and recheck the number of characters until you determine a valid string.
- If you are recommissioning an existing external power controller for use by Cassatt Active Response, make sure you know if it is being used; you don't want to overwrite an existing user authentication.
- Access the external power controller using telnet or the serial port.
- Configure network access and authentication settings.
The following examples reflect settings when using a static IP address; in this case, DHCP is disabled. You can, however, configure the external power controller to DCHP if the device is in a network outside Cassatt Active Response control. In that case, note the IP address the device receives for use later in this procedure.
Baytech RPC3DE |
Example and notes |
Log into the Baytech and access the configuration mode |
If you are in the controller mode and need to access the configuration mode, enter five semi-colons (;;;;;).
NOTE: This Baytech model does not support multiple telnet sessions. The interface allows another user to connect (shows "Port in Use" message), but access is limited to the admin menus. If you cannot access the outlet control menu, it is probably because someone else has the connection. |
Access the configuration menu |
Configure......C |
Configure network access |
Network Port Configuration....8
- Set DHCP = Disabled
- Manually edit/reset the following settings. Even if they appear to be correct, the interface can display cached data and may not reflect what you intend, causing a mismatch of values, which results in node discovery problems.
- IP address
- Subnet mask
- Default gateway
|
Save changes |
Whenever you make changes in the configuration menu, be sure to use the Enter key to move back through menus until you get the message, "Accept changes? (Y/N)" or changes do not take affect. |
| Configure SNMP Write Community name |
SNMP Configuration......10
SNMP Read-Write Community......6
Snmp Write Community name: private
Enter Write Community Name:
|
Enable SNMP |
SNMP Disabled......7
.
.
SNMP Enabled |
| Logout |
In this model, logout/logoff operations do not work. To end the telnet session:
1.
CTRL-]
2. quit |
APC 7900/7901 |
Example and notes |
Configure and enable SNMP |
- Navigate to: Network > SNMP > SNMPv3 Specific Settings
- Select an SNMPv3 User Profile that is not in use.
NOTE: The SNMPv3 user profile and authentication phrase are not the same as the external power controller username and password.
- Configure the authentication:
a) User Profile
b) Authentication Phrase
c) Set Access Type to Auth/No Priv for one of the existing profiles.
NOTE:
If you don't know the hidden authentication phrase, configure one and make a note of it; you'll need to enter the same phrase in the Controller when creating the external power controller.
NOTE: If you are changing an existing authentication phrase, be aware that some external power controllers can take several minutes before changes take affect. This is an issue with the external power controller and not Cassatt Active Response.
- Accept changes and verify success.
- Go back to the SNMPv3 Specific Settings menu and open the counterpart SNMPv3 Access Control file that corresponds to the SNMPv3 User Profile number you configured in step 2. (For example, if you created SNMPv3 User Profile 2, you must configure its counterpart, SNMPv3 Access Control 2 file.)
- In the SNMPv3 Access Control file, set Access to Enabled.
- Accept changes and verify success.
- Navigate to: Network > SNMP > Settings
- Make sure SNMPv3 Access is set to Enabled.
- Accept changes and verify success.
|
| Configure network access |
- Navigate to: Network > TCP/IP
- Edit: System IP, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway
|
Cyber Switching Dualcom D1630ViBR |
Example and notes |
| Configure network access |
- Navigate to: System Settings > Network Settings
- Disable DHCP, that is: [ ] Enable DHCP
- Edit the fields for your site: IP, Subnet Mask, and Gateway.
- Save edits by backspacing out of the menu (or Ctrl-h if you are using a terminal emulator).
|
Configure and enable SNMP |
- Navigate to SNMP Settings.
- Enable SNMP, that is: [x] Enable SNMP.
- Enable either Community1 or Community2 with write access, that is:
Community2
([x] write access) : private
- Backspace or Ctrl-h to save changes.
|
- Log into the Controller.
- If necessary, create a matching default authentication for the external power controller: Discovered Pool > Properties > Power Controller Authentication.
Step 3: Create and discover external power controller in Cassatt Active Response
Follow these steps to create the external power controller in the Controller.
If you are adding a number of external power controllers, you can save time by importing them in a comma-separated file. For details, see Configuration files for power controllers and nodes.
- Log into the Controller
- Go to: Discovered Pool > Power Controllers > New Power Controller.
- Complete the wizard.
- On the Power Controller page, verify that Cassatt Active Response has finished discovering the external power controller.
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Managing external power controllers
The following table describes how to manage external power controllers after they are configured for Cassatt Active Response.
| Task |
Steps |
Change required properties |
After an external power controller completes discovery, you can change properties (except for power controller type, IP address, and network); to change uneditable properties, you must delete the external power controller and add a new one. |
| Change authentication |
If you need to change authentication on an external power controller, make sure you change it on the hardware and also in the Controller. If the external power controller is discovered, go to: Discovered Pool > Power Controllers > select power controller link > Properties.
To change a default authentication, go to: Discovered Pool > Properties. |
| Back up external power controller and node information |
To back up existing external power controller and node information:
- Go to: Discovered Pool > Power Controllers.
- Select the external power controllers from the list.
- From the Power Actions menu, select Export Power Controllers/Nodes.
|
Delete |
Follow these steps to delete external power controllers.
- Delete nodes attached to the external power controller.
- Go to: Discovered Pool > Power Controllers.
- Select the appropriate external power controller from the list.
- Select Power Controller Actions menu > Delete.
|
Replace |
If Cassatt Active Response loses contact with an external power controller, it issues a power failure alert, and nodes sit in the tier in an inoperable state. If you must replace an external power controller, the best practice is to add a new one. Why? Because changing settings to reflect different vendor hardware, different number of outlets, and a different IP address, increases the likelihood of errors and a mismatch in configuration.
Follow these steps to replace a failed external power controller.
- If you want to add the new external power controller using a file, you can export the existing configuration file for the external power controller and its nodes: Discovered Pool > Power Controllers > select power controller > Power Controller actions menu > Export power controllers/nodes.
- Delete the nodes in the tier.
- Delete the failed external power controller.
- Plug the nodes into the new external power controller and record the outlet numbers.
- Modify the configuration file to reflect the new external power controller configuration. For help, see the sidebar Configuration files for power controllers and nodes.
- Cable, configure, and discover the new external power controller as described in Setup, configuration, and discovery. Complete the wizard, selecting the file you modified if using a file, and verify that the new external power controller is discovered.
- Add the nodes to the external power controller individually or by using the same export file: Discovered Pool > Power Controllers > select external power controller > Power Controller actions menu > Add Nodes OR
Discovered Pool > Power Controllers > link > Associated Nodes > Add Nodes.
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Troubleshooting
The following table provides help in troubleshooting discovery, inventory, and managing external power controllers and associated nodes.
State |
Problem |
Follow these steps... |
| Set up |
Nodes are not booting, or are inconsistently booting. |
Problems with nodes booting means that you did not validate the BIOS power settings (Wake on LAN and/or "Boot when power is restored") on the application nodes. See, Application Node Setup: Nodes that Use External Power Controllers > Step 1: Validate application node required power settings.
|
Discovery |
External power controller not discovering |
Discovery should be completed in about 3–4 minutes. If the external power controller has not discovered by then, check the following:
- Is authentication set up correctly on the external power controller?
- Is network access correctly configured?
- Did you correctly enter the authentication phrase in the Controller? If you changed the settings, did you try waiting to make sure it took affect in the external power controller interface?
- Did you enter the correct IP address for the external power controller?
|
Up and running |
Alerts for several nodes on an external power controller |
If you get alerts on several nodes attached to an external power controller, there is a problem with 1) the external power controller itself or 2) the configuration of the external power controller.
- Validate the configuration of the external power controller including type, IP address, network, and nodes.
- If the configuration is correct, log into the external power controller and check that the outlets are working.
- Try restarting power on the external power controller. If this doesn't work, follow the instructions to replace the failed external power controller.
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