Energetical safety or how to change one bit in APC?
Recently I've had a chance to configure the APC's UPS device providing 4200 Watts of backup energy to my server and other equipment.
The story is about Smart UPS 6000 XLI. I was extending it with one more battery pack, consisting of four 18 kilogram batteries. As the manual says, I should program the added the battery pack in UPS configuration for it to act properly and count remaining time well. Considering manual, that was easy. Eventually I discovered that manual does not correspond the software I was connecting to via the serial cable at all. After nearly eight hours of trial and error I discovered I do not have that useful feature neither over the serial console, nor using the web interface of remote management card.
So I called the support of UPS and asked them (I had to do that in Russian, as support belongs to Moscow and does not care I would like to speak Ukrainian, they just have one support center for two countries). Anyway, I asked how do I mention the number of batteries in this device. They told - you just go to UPS tab on web-interface and do it. Strange that manual did not tell a thing about this, but I have already been there and there was no such option - I told.
The support girl got surprised and told I would need to flash the remote control card. She sent me instructions how to and files I need to get flashing done. As I was doing the procedure under Linux, I referred to flashing over ftp.
The software consists of three binary packages and I managed to upload two and flash two thirds of the software. The third part - so called application, failed to come in, no matter how I tried. So I ended up with half-responsible terminal with no more information about UPS and it's status, as well as broken web-interface.
I read on the web, the solution could be to format and reboot the card. I did it, and lost all connection to the card. I thought I killed it.
I wrote email in response about the situation to the girl I talked with, but got no response, so was left on my own.
After a couple hours of thinking, I changed the port speed from recommended 2400 to standard 9600 on the COM port and it came alive.
At last, when the card came alive, I called support once more, and a guy, hardly understanding me (or unwilling to understand), said to complete the flashing I need to swap the order of files I am uploading. My words about the manual sent by girl and the order mentioned there were not heard. - Just change the order, he said. Or try to flash the card over X-Modem, find how at our site (he meant APC). - Oh no, they aren't at the site, I will send you, told he in a minute.
After I received his e-mail I got shocked of the procedure complexity. I just closed the message and started thinking how to flash the old way. I was not physically near the server and this procedure would make me pull the cables and plug them back, simultaneously doing other strange voodoo things. I trusted the logic, that no one would play this way.
Again after searching Internet for one more hour, I discovered some people enter "bin" command before flashing. I guessed I need to transfer ftp client to binary mode beforehand for this to work. When I did the trick, the device got flashed over FTP and using web interface I saw the long struggled option to select number of batteries and many more at the UPS tab.
Does it all need to be so difficult and take full 24 hours of work? Ask APC.