mge-utalk(8)

NAME
mge-utalk - Driver for MGE UPS SYSTEMS UTalk protocol hardware

NOTE
This man page only documents the hardware-specific features of the mge-utalk driver. For information about the core driver, see nutupsdrv(8).

SUPPORTED HARDWARE
mge-utalk supports the following models:
    Pulsar Evolution (Serial port),
    Pulsar ESV+,
    Pulsar EX,
    Pulsar ES+,
    Pulsar EXtreme C,
    Pulsar / Comet EXtreme,
    Comet / Galaxy (Serial card)

EXTRA ARGUMENTS
This driver supports the following optional settings in the ups.conf(5):

LowBatt=value
    Low battery level below which LB is raised, in % (default 30%)

OnDelay=value
    Set delay before startup, in minutes (default 1 minute)

OffDelay=value
    Delay before shutdown, in seconds (default 120 seconds)

IMPLEMENTATION DETAILS
Not all MGE UPS models provide all possible information. mge-utalk checks on startup which variables and commands are available from the UPS, and re-reads these regularly. Thus, startup is a bit slow, but this should not matter much. mge-utalk.h defines a struct array that tells the driver how to read variables from the UPS and publish them as NUT data. "ups.status" variable is not included in this array, since it contains information that requires several calls to the UPS and more advanced analysis of the reponses. The function get_ups_status does this job. Note that MGE enumerates the status "bits" from right to left, i.e., if buf[] contains the reponse to command "Ss" (read system status), then buf[0] contains "bit" Ss.1.7 (General alarm), while buf[7] contains "bit" Ss.1.0 (Load unprotected). enable_ups_comm() is called before each attempt to read/write data from/to the UPS to re synchronise the communication.

TODO LIST

Option -d (setting sddelay)
    Ignored for now, the driver should wait this long before it itself shuts down. As Russell writes:
        sddelay is supposed to be how long the _driver_ waits for the
        shutdown, not necessarily the UPS. It's there so you can make the
        driver stick around for awhile until the computer gets turned off.
        If it exits, you should reboot, since something failed.

Sort out OFF/OL issues
    OFF is set according to Ls.2.7, but maybe this interpretation is in conflict with the NUT interpretation of the OFF flag?

Sort out status_set(FSD) issue
    This flag is set when the UPS is in Shutdown Imminent state. But Russell says the driver should set it... To be clarified.

Add selectable plug number for commands
    ON/OFF/REBOOT commands can act either on outlet 1, 2 or main (1 + 2). This features depends on the UPS model.

AUTHORS
Hans Ekkehard Plesser, Nicholas Reilly, Arnaud Quette, Dave Abbott, Marek Kralewski

SEE ALSO

  The core driver:
nutupsdrv(8)

  Internet resources:
The NUT (Network UPS Tools) home page: http://www.exploits.org/nut/ NUT mailing list archives and information: http://lists.exploits.org/