scpinker@pikes.Colorado.EDU (Scott C. Pinkerton) (02/05/90)
I am looking into adding an Uninterruptable Power Supply onto an HP9000/375 and I was wondering who may have tried this, looked into this already. The investigation that I have done so far indicates that the UPS connects to the system via an rs-232 interface. Upon a loss of power the UPS would start providing power via its battery capabilities, AND it would send some type of signal/information to the 375 via the rs-232 line so that the 375 knew to start shutting down the system. Is it common for the UPS vendor to supply the software which runs on the 375 -or- is that something left to the user? I've noticed over the years an entry in /etc/inittab, which is created during the install of HP-UX, for pf (power fail routines). What was HP's intented use of this entry, or recommended method of interfacing with a UPS? Any help or information would be appreciated. Scott Pinkerton scpinker@colorado.pikes.edu
rer@hpfcdc.HP.COM (Rob Robason) (02/06/90)
> I've noticed over the years an entry in /etc/inittab, which is created > during the install of HP-UX, for pf (power fail routines). What was > HP's intented use of this entry, or recommended method of interfacing > with a UPS? This is support for powerfail hardware available only on the series 800. This hardware is not available on the 300 and you will not be able to use the same mechanism. I can't say whether the UPS vendor supplies anything, I know of nothing that HP provides for this, though I don't claim to know *everything* :-). Rob Robason
rocky@hpfcmgw.HP.COM (Rocky Craig) (02/07/90)
> I am looking into adding an Uninterruptable Power Supply onto an HP9000/375 > and I was wondering who may have tried this, looked into this already. You don't mention the company name (who makes the UPS), so this may or may not help. Several years ago HP worked with "Sola" and their UPS, which also uses RS232 to signal a power failure. An application note was generated, HP part number 98561-90615, "HP 9000 Series 300 Battery Backup Application Brief". There are brief examples of code for BASIC, Pascal Workstation (other OS that run on the 300 hardware) and HP-UX (in C). Your local sales office should be able to get a copy for you. Rocky Craig Hewlett-Packard Workstation Group, Marketing Event Technical Support 3404 E. Harmony Road, Ft. Collins, Colorado 80525-9599 Internet: rocky%hpfcmr@hplabs.hp.com UUCP: ...!{hplabs | hpu*}!hpfcmr!rocky This article does not represent the official position of the Hewlett-Packard Company. The above data is provided for informational purposes only. It is supplied without warranty of any kind.
dyer@hpunila.HP.COM (Dennis Dyer) (02/08/90)
You may also want to look at Best Power Technology. They make UPS's with a RS232 interface and provide the software for a variety of operating systems including UNIX,XENIX,DOS and a multitude of others. They are located in upper Wisconsin. Our local supplier in Chicago is SEPS INC. (312)-986-8899 or try (708)-986-8899. This is not an official HP response just a personal observation of what some of my customers use. Dennis Dyer HP Naperville IL Sales