cisco switch, PoE, UPS's, and power outages

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cyr0n_k0r

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I'm wondering if anyone knows of a method to have a UPS notify a Cisco switch that the UPS is now running on battery power. I am aware of APC's powerchute software able to do this with agents on windows servers, but is there any way to notify network devices?

What I am thinking is the following scenario.

We have multiple PoE devices on a switch (security cameras, phones, wireless AP's, security locks, etc)
In the event of a power failure I want the Cisco switch to somehow know the UPS is now operating on battery because I want the switch to take proactive action and turn off PoE on non critical devices like access points in order to save power to keep the phones powered longer.

Is anything like this possible?
 
No, not that I have ever seen.

Buy a bigger UPS to keep everything running if you are short on run time.
 
klank said:
No, not that I have ever seen.

Buy a bigger UPS to keep everything running if you are short on run time.
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I don't see that as a solution. If need be I can design something, but I hope there is already something out there.
 
I believe that Powerchute can execute a command upon reaching a threshold. Might be easier to script a command from windows rather than direct from the UPS.
 
cyr0n_k0r said:
I don't see that as a solution. If need be I can design something, but I hope there is already something out there.
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Honestly I think you are not thinking simple enough. How long are you power outages? Do you not have generator backup if this site is "critical"?

I understand that you want to perform a function a certain way, however there may be better more efficient ways to do this.

KISS
 
Only way I can think of is a script as mentioned. There is no way for the switch to know what ports are valuable to you. Maybe just an interface range shutdown command?
 
klank said:
Honestly I think you are not thinking simple enough. How long are you power outages? Do you not have generator backup if this site is "critical"?

I understand that you want to perform a function a certain way, however there may be better more efficient ways to do this.

KISS
Click to expand...
Right, because generators are keeping it simple :rolleyes:
We have several campuses with very unreliable power and do not have the money for generators.

@timeberdoodle, I don't want to shutdown ports, only turn off PoE for noncritical devices. But if PowerChute will allow me to run commands then I can just create scripts that can log into switches based on which UPS's are on battery and turn off PoE for everything except phones.
 
cyr0n_k0r said:
Right, because generators are keeping it simple :rolleyes:
We have several campuses with very unreliable power and do not have the money for generators.

@timeberdoodle, I don't want to shutdown ports, only turn off PoE for noncritical devices. But if PowerChute will allow me to run commands then I can just create scripts that can log into switches based on which UPS's are on battery and turn off PoE for everything except phones.
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Yes but you can do an interface range for no power inline. It would be cool if you could do it per vlan otherwise it'll be a bit tedious.
 
timberdoodle said:
Yes but you can do an interface range for no power inline. It would be cool if you could do it per vlan otherwise it'll be a bit tedious.
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You could just have your script issue no power inline for all interfaces in specific vlans.
Not really so tedious since the script can run though everything in milliseconds.
 
cyr0n_k0r said:
You could just have your script issue no power inline for all interfaces in specific vlans.
Not really so tedious since the script can run though everything in milliseconds.
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...Knowing what devices are where and managing the list 6-12 months down the road is the tedious part, not the running of the script.
 
cyr0n_k0r said:
Right, because generators are keeping it simple :rolleyes:
We have several campuses with very unreliable power and do not have the money for generators.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a poorly thought out network.

GLHFGFY
 
klank said:
Sounds like a poorly thought out network.

GLHFGFY
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Sigh, sounds like someone doesn't know how the real world works.
Please leave this thread since you have no idea what you're talking about and are just thread crapping.

@timber, for a relatively static network I don't see it being too much of an issue. As long as you code things such that you aren't ever hard coding ports.. really just telling the script to shut down power based on criteria. You could tell the script to kill power based on vlan's, based on other "show" commands to give you which ports are phones and which are not, etc.
 
KISS, Get another POE switch. This way you have a critical POE switch and an non critical POE switch. Put the phones on the critical and the rest on the non critical.
 
darrenster said:
KISS, Get another POE switch. This way you have a critical POE switch and an non critical POE switch. Put the phones on the critical and the rest on the non critical.
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:rolleyes:
Throwing money at a problem is not always feasible. Do none of you people ever actually come up with creative solutions to problems at work?
Buying more things is not keeping it simple.
 
cyr0n_k0r said:
:rolleyes:
Throwing money at a problem is not always feasible. Do none of you people ever actually come up with creative solutions to problems at work?
Buying more things is not keeping it simple.
Click to expand...

Script it. UPS sends a signal...which launches a script, logs in to the switches, and shuts down the necessary parts. That's about as good as you're going to get.
 
I would just go the script route. Would be fairly easy to do in Linux as you can use the ssh command and key pair (so password can be automated) and then run the command. No idea how it would be done in Windows but it may also be doable. Or you can just use telnet, but I personally like keeping that disabled and only use ssh.

At home I have an inverter-charger setup with 2 marine batteries, the inverter-charger does not have any way to tell a computer that it's running on batteries. So I ended up using Arduino with a relay plugged into a non protected outlet. When the power goes out, the relay turns off, triggering an alarm condition, from there I could pretty much script anything I wanted. I just monitor the battery voltage so I know when to start shutting stuff down.
 
cyr0n_k0r said:
:rolleyes:
Throwing money at a problem is not always feasible. Do none of you people ever actually come up with creative solutions to problems at work?
Buying more things is not keeping it simple.
Click to expand...

Just going to throw this out there.

Do you work for free?

If not you need to consider the amount of time your going to spend on this project.

Also I wouldn't consider sending a message to a windows machine that runs a script that shuts down specific ports on a router is not exactly a simple solution.

Many things to go wrong.

Much simpler solution would be to re-purpose or buy a switch for your non critical devices.
And just not hook it up to the UPS.

Not saying the script isn't a good solution but consider:
What is going to be cheapest in the long run?
Will you need another switch down the road?
Do you have any extra equipment?
Is it worth investing in infrastructure to resolve this problem?
Is it worth the cost of your time to resolve this problem?
 
@thedocta45

No, I don't work for free. But I can whip up a script to shutdown ports in 5 minutes.

The cheapest in the long run is not spending 10k on a commercial generator with labor etc.
No, we will not need another switch down the road.
No, we do not have any extra equipment.
It is not worth investing in the infrastructure because we can't afford to double up on every switch in our IDF's at each campus (about 7-8 IDF's per campus)
Yes, it is worth the cost of my time considering I can accomplish it with scripting and testing in just a few hours.

Plus, it saves the company money which is the entire point of a real IT department. I think klank and darrenster must think all IT departments are cost centers.
 
cyr0n_k0r said:
@thedocta45

No, I don't work for free. But I can whip up a script to shutdown ports in 5 minutes.

The cheapest in the long run is not spending 10k on a commercial generator with labor etc.
No, we will not need another switch down the road.
No, we do not have any extra equipment.
It is not worth investing in the infrastructure because we can't afford to double up on every switch in our IDF's at each campus (about 7-8 IDF's per campus)
Yes, it is worth the cost of my time considering I can accomplish it with scripting and testing in just a few hours.

Plus, it saves the company money which is the entire point of a real IT department. I think klank and darrenster must think all IT departments are cost centers.
Click to expand...

You know, I have a real problem with members like cyr0n_k0r, who come to the forum asking a question and imitate disdain at perfectly valid answers.
If you already know everything, why ask? If you are the only one this problem could apply to, why should we answer in a forum?
There are many styles and strategies for IT management. Learning all makes a good IT worker, focusing on self-aggrandizement makes a poor individual. If you want to direct replies down a certain path, supply more information. Any information, from the asker or answerer, is useful- maybe now, maybe to the future individual searching for answers.
It's not about Just You- it's about the Forum. Get off your high-horse and participate in the spirit meant by this forum, not in some self-serving bohemian manner.
I've looked at past posts, and many are the same. A question is asked, you don't like the answer so you criticie and belittle. That's not cool.
You've already spent more than 5 minutes on this issue in the forum, so your scripting remark must be boasting. IT IS a cost senter for most businesses, just like any office supplies, building costs, etc. Budget is considered on need and funds, just like any other business need. If you have no budget, you are a kid in a candystore with no money. If you have a budget, let us know.
 
RocketTech said:
You know, I have a real problem with members like cyr0n_k0r, who come to the forum asking a question and imitate disdain at perfectly valid answers.
If you already know everything, why ask? If you are the only one this problem could apply to, why should we answer in a forum?
There are many styles and strategies for IT management. Learning all makes a good IT worker, focusing on self-aggrandizement makes a poor individual. If you want to direct replies down a certain path, supply more information. Any information, from the asker or answerer, is useful- maybe now, maybe to the future individual searching for answers.
It's not about Just You- it's about the Forum. Get off your high-horse and participate in the spirit meant by this forum, not in some self-serving bohemian manner.
I've looked at past posts, and many are the same. A question is asked, you don't like the answer so you criticie and belittle. That's not cool.
You've already spent more than 5 minutes on this issue in the forum, so your scripting remark must be boasting. IT IS a cost senter for most businesses, just like any office supplies, building costs, etc. Budget is considered on need and funds, just like any other business need. If you have no budget, you are a kid in a candystore with no money. If you have a budget, let us know.
Click to expand...
I have a real problem with people thinking their way is the only way.
klanks solution was to simply buy a generator then said "keep it simple". Right, generators are simple. Then when I said we can't afford a generator that is somehow poor network design? klank offered nothing and simply thread crapped. My original question asked about a method to have a UPS notify a switch of a power outage. A statement of "buy a generator" adds nothing to the quality of the thread or "the forum". :rolleyes:

Then we have darrenster coming in saying yet again to "keep it simple" but then says "buy another switch" after I've already told klank we don't have money for generators. Yet again not offering any solutions to the actual question of UPS's notifying switches they are on battery.

Then we come to your post where you chide my posting skills. Hey dufus, I asked a very simple question .. maybe you should go back and re-read my first post. I didn't offer any information about budgets because it is irrelevant to the original question. The only time a budget question should come up when answering my question would be "hey, I know about this device that does what you want but it costs X" however none of the answers have been anything like that. Instead trying to blame me because I'm trying to think of low cost/no cost alternatives to accomplish a business objective.

IT departments are not total cost centers if you have engineers who know their job. And I have a problem with people like YOU who think they are. People are so quick to spend other peoples money when you should stop and think if there are alternatives.

Thanks to Nate7311, timberdoodle, metraon, Net Junike and the others who actually made an attempt to answer the actual question I asked instead of being snobs.
 
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