UPS and unraid VM in ESXi

Can a UPS be setup and configured the same in a unraid VM as in baremetal unraid? Or are there special considerations that need to be taken care off? In unraid apcupsd is configured like shown in the attachment. Are these settings about right or need the Battery Level, Minutes and Tmeout be set differently? Unraid might powerdown clean but the ESXi box will drain the batteries and shutdown when the batteries are empty right now. How need things be configured that the unraid VM will autostart after ESXi is started when power comes back?

I found an excellent solution for integrating UPS shutdown with ESXi.  CyberPower brand battery backups have a VM appliance based on CentOS that is specifically designed for ESXi and Xen Server.  I purchased a CyberPower OR1500LCDRM2U ($299 at Amazon) and installed the VM appliance and it works like a charm.  As long as each VM has VMware Tools installed it will do a clean shut down off each VM and then shut down the host.  It will also shut itself off if so configured.  You can configure it to send email notifications on numerous events and whatnot. 

I've only had it up and running a few days now, but I've tested it numerous times and it works like a charm so far.

I found an excellent solution for integrating UPS shutdown with ESXi.  CyberPower brand battery backups have a VM appliance based on CentOS that is specifically designed for ESXi and Xen Server.  I purchased a CyberPower OR1500LCDRM2U ($299 at Amazon) and installed the VM appliance and it works like a charm.  As long as each VM has VMware Tools installed it will do a clean shut down off each VM and then shut down the host.  It will also shut itself off if so configured.  You can configure it to send email notifications on numerous events and whatnot. 

 

I've only had it up and running a few days now, but I've tested it numerous times and it works like a charm so far.

Is this still working well for you? I'm considering a UPS and I'm between APC and CyberPower right now. That pre-configured VM appliance looks like it really takes the headache out of configuring everything from scratch.

RockDawg, THANK YOU! you may have provided a choice I was looking for!

I found an excellent solution for integrating UPS shutdown with ESXi.  CyberPower brand battery backups have a VM appliance based on CentOS that is specifically designed for ESXi and Xen Server.  I purchased a CyberPower OR1500LCDRM2U ($299 at Amazon) and installed the VM appliance and it works like a charm.  As long as each VM has VMware Tools installed it will do a clean shut down off each VM and then shut down the host.  It will also shut itself off if so configured.  You can configure it to send email notifications on numerous events and whatnot. 

 

I've only had it up and running a few days now, but I've tested it numerous times and it works like a charm so far.

 

Is this still working well for you? I'm considering a UPS and I'm between APC and CyberPower right now. That pre-configured VM appliance looks like it really takes the headache out of configuring everything from scratch.

Yes, it works great.  I've had no issues with it.

RockDawg, THANK YOU! you may have provided a choice I was looking for!

No problem.  The real thanks goes out to tinkererguy as he's where I first heard about it.  Here is his video where I first saw it:

EXCELLENT find => I suspect you've just sold a lot of those CyberPower UPS units 

I suspect you've just sold a lot of those CyberPower UPS units 

I know, right?  I was jazzed as hell when I first found out about them, but when I posted it here nobody really seemed interested.  I was a bit perplexed because of all the users running ESXi systems, but I just figured most people probably already had a UPS that was a different brand and didn't want to buy a new one.  But CyberPower seems to be relatively cheap price-wise and while it's the first product of there's I've owned, it seems like a nice, well-made product to me.  Features are right in line with the APC I have.

I say kudos to CyberPower for being first to market with a feasible ESXi UPS solution for the home crowd.

I know, right?  I was jazzed as hell when I first found out about them, but when I posted it here nobody really seemed interested.  I was a bit perplexed because of all the users running ESXi systems, but I just figured most people probably already had a UPS that was a different brand and didn't want to buy a new one.  But CyberPower seems to be relatively cheap price-wise and while it's the first product of there's I've owned, it seems like a nice, well-made product to me.  Features are right in line with the APC I have.

 

I say kudos to CyberPower for being first to market with a feasible ESXi UPS solution for the home crowd.

I am looking at getting a CyberPower just for this "feature."  I have an APC unit that I am using but have not set it up to work properly with ESXi.  I was using it with my bar metal unRAID server before moving to ESXi, hence the APC unit instead of the CyberPower one.

I've used CyberPower UPS for several years (have both CyberPower and APC units at home) ... but this is the first I've seen about the VMware control software ==> THAT is what's so great about your post, as it provides a very nice solution for shutting down a virtual server and having all of the client OS's shut down gracefully as well.

Oh I get it.  The virtual appliance feature is the only reason I even noticed the CyberPower.  Like you prostuff1, I had a APC UPS on by bare metal unRAID that I really wanted to use when I build my Atlas-like system, but what I found was it seemed like a serious pain in the rear (and probably beyond my skill set).  I was definitely dismayed that I couldn't cleanly shut down the system with my APC.'

When I found tinkererguy's video I thought it was badass.  While I didn't relish the thought of spending $300 to replace a perfectly good UPS, after watching how easy it was to set up and how easily it worked, I didn't hesitate to do it.

As an additional bonus, I now use the APC on my desktop computer which should have had one years ago.

I've used CyberPower UPS for several years (have both CyberPower and APC units at home) ... but this is the first I've seen about the VMware control software ==> THAT is what's so great about your post, as it provides a very nice solution for shutting down a virtual server and having all of the client OS's shut down gracefully as well.

Because it requires VMWare Tools to properly shut down the guests, I'm still waiting for the correct VMWare Tools to try out rc15a.  With some of the speed increases that have been reported on the latest version of unRAID, I am anxious to try it, but Zeron hasn't released a build of the toolsfor rc15a.  Here's the thread where he posts them if you didn't already know about it:

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=11449.0

Oh I get it.  The virtual appliance feature is the only reason I even noticed the CyberPower.  Like you prostuff1, I had a APC UPS on by bare metal unRAID that I really wanted to use when I build my Atlas-like system, but what I found was it seemed like a serious pain in the rear (and probably beyond my skill set).  I was definitely dismayed that I couldn't cleanly shut down the system with my APC.'

 

When I found tinkererguy's video I thought it was badass.  While I didn't relish the thought of spending $300 to replace a perfectly good UPS, after watching how easy it was to set up and how easily it worked, I didn't hesitate to do it.

 

As an additional bonus, I now use the APC on my desktop computer which should have had one years ago.

Yeah, I am going to do something similar to your setup.  Get a Cyberpower for my ESXi box, move the APC to my modem, router, TV area, and move that older lower watt APC to my test server and server building area.  It is just a matter of spending the money on the CyberPower unit at this point.

RockDawg: which CyberPower did you end up getting?

I purchased the OR1500LCDRM2U (1500 VA) because it was big enough for my needs and I wanted a rack mount, but it can also stand upright.  And frankly, I don't understand enough about UPS's to know if I needed or would benefit from the sine wave tech so I avoided it.

Amazon has it for $299 with free shipping:

http://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-OR1500LCDRM2U-Smart-Intelligent-1500VA/dp/B000XJNOXI

But I believe (Don't quote me as I may be wrong) you could also use the CP1500AVRLCD  (1500 VA) $159:

http://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP1500AVRLCD-Intelligent-1500VA-Mini-Tower/dp/B000FBK3QK/ref=pd_sim_e_6

EDIT:  In his video, tinkererguy says he uses the CP1500PFCLCD ($199)

http://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP1500PFCLCD-Sinewave-Compatible-Mini-Tower/dp/B00429N19W/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1372279240&sr=1-1&keywords=cp1500pfclcd

I've used CyberPower UPS for several years (have both CyberPower and APC units at home) ... but this is the first I've seen about the VMware control software ==> THAT is what's so great about your post, as it provides a very nice solution for shutting down a virtual server and having all of the client OS's shut down gracefully as well.

 

Because it requires VMWare Tools to properly shut down the guests, I'm still waiting for the correct VMWare Tools to try out rc15a.  With some of the speed increases that have been reported on the latest version of unRAID, I am anxious to try it, but Zeron hasn't released a build of the toolsfor rc15a.  Here's the thread where he posts them if you didn't already know about it:

 

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=11449.0

Wait on rc15a. It is not a good candidate right now.

Funny you mention that.  I just found and am reading the thread about copied files being missing after an unclean shutdown.  I was wondering why we haven't seen 5.0 final.  Thanks for the heads-up.

I just recently (month ago) got the Cyberpower 1500PFCLCD and followed tinkererguy's instructions

Easy as pie.

Shuts everything down nicely. Ran several tests (with array stopped). Was happy/impressed with the results and the ease of setting it up.

Ran a couple more tests with the Array UP, worked like a charm.

Now I have the Cyberpower for my Norco 4224 (up 24/7) and a SuperMicro case (from TAMS) which is rarely up.

The old APC is now serving duty for my other euqipment in the home office

got my cyberpower UPS today and will be hooking it up over the weekend.

Which one did you get?

Which one did you get?

I got the CP1500PFCLCD

Well, got the server and new battery backup into its home.  The PowerPanel VM was fairly easy to get running though I did have to modify the .ovf file so that it would install.  It has something to do with the version of ESXi I am running and the version that was used to create the .ovf.

All in all it is up and running and now it is up to me to play with and get everything set up the way I want it.

I got the same CP1500PFCLCD and setup my new ESXi machine with the Cyberpower VM over the weekend.

Setup couldn't have been easier. Once I knew my way around ESXi, you just install the VM, log into the web interface, make a few changes, and everything is good to go. The VM provided by Cyberpower installed without issues on my ESXi 5.1 machine.

Thanks so much for posting this information. I got a new CyberPower UPS and it's working great following the video.

An added tip for people that might be running multiple ESXi servers.

CyberPower make a client appliance for ESXi as well as the Agent.  So if you have two ESXi servers running off the same UPS you can put the client appliance on one ESXi server and the Agent on the other.  Connect the data cable from the UPS to the Agent VM.  The Client appliance VM talks to the Agent appliance VM and will shut down that instance of ESXi while the Agent takes care of the other ESXi box.  I haven't tested this out completely as I just found and installed the Client appliance last night and I won't be testing this out until tonight or this weekend.  I will pull the plug on my CyberPower UPS and see if both ESXi servers shut down successfully. 

I'm sure it was intended to be used as I described above (two boxes connect to same UPS).  I have an APC UPS on my other ESXi host so I can't use the Agent on it - already tried.  I can (hopefully) get the computer to shutdown this way even if I can't shut off the UPS.  Just have to make sure I only have the computer attached to the APC UPS so there is no draw when it shuts down - or as little as possible anyway.  Once I have the budget to get a properly sized UPS for it I will get a CyberPower unit for it too.

And speaking of that anybody want a CP1000PFCLCD.  I have more than one but so far it is only large enough for one of my three ESXi servers.  Too many drives that aren't green on my 2nd server.  Will be testing my third server tonight or this weekend.  Guess I should have tested all of the servers first before I ordered the additional two darn it!