Dell UPS 2700W, MUMC and vSphere 5.0 configuration

Hi Andy

Thanks for the information, its very helpful! I would just like to shutdown all VMs on their respective hosts without doing a phased migration/consolidation onto one host. So in my instance I would just use the settings on ESX3 in the above example?

If I'm running MUMC on vCenter which is a VM within the cluster, what happens if the VM hosting MUMC is shutdown before the entire shutdown process is completed? Does MUMC send the shutdown command or is it the UPS?

I also thought that only the automatic start up function of Virtual Machine Startup and Shutdown was disabled when using HA?

pubs.vmware.com/.../index.jsp

Thanks!

Richard

Hi Richard,

Glad the comments were useful :-)  Yes, you would just use the ESX3 settings in your particular case.

The trick with MUMC is to realise that it needs to be functional (live) in order to send the maintenance/shutdown commands.  Hence you need to make sure that the VM hosting it is the last man standing, or at least that by the time this VM begins to shut down, all the initiations have already taken place.  Once the host has begun the shutdown process the MUMC client would be OK to shut down.

You may be right about the VM automation, I haven't checked that in a while, I'll defer to you on that one!

Have a good weekend.

Andy

Okay it looks like I need to look into this a bit more to get the timings right.

Thanks again for your comments, they've been most helpful.

Enjoy your weekend too.

Richard

Hi Andy

I just thought of another question in regards to RSVM:

If this feature is enabled on a host with the following values:

Master shutdown after - 40mins

Master shutdown duration - 20mins

Could you confirm the behaviour when the UPS goes on battery?

1) UPS goes on battery.

2) After 40 mins RSVM initiates VM shutdown.

3) MUMC waits until all VMs are powered off then initiates host shutdown.

4) After 60 mins the UPS shuts off.

I'm I correct in assuming that MUMC needs to be online to issue the host shutdown after RSVM has powered off all of the VMs?

Thanks,

Richard

Hi Richard,

For your settings, this would be the sequence:

1) UPS goes onto battery mode

2) Countdown timer begins (Master shutdown after variable)

3) 40mins elapses, then "shutdown" command issued to host (including the RSVM switch if selected)

4) UPS waits for a further 20mins during which time it assumes that all required actions (shutting down VMs, host) has been completed (there is no feedback mechanism to the UPS or MUMC)

5) UPS turns off outlets to host (default behaviour, but this part can be disabled to leave sockets on)

This is why the "Master Shutdown Duration" is an important variable - because there is no feedback or abort mechanism you need to be sure that the 20mins is enough for everything to take place.  Once the shutdown timer (Master Shutdown Duration) counter has elapsed, the shutdown process has begun and cannot be aborted (due to OS limitations, not UPS s/w functionality.   Hence the Master Shutdown Duration should be a conservative number.

Hope this helps!

Andy

Hi Andy

Just to clarify once the shutdown command is initiated to the host is there any further requirement for MUMC to be online? I'm just trying to ascertain if running MUMC on a VM within the cluster is going to be feasible design wise or whether I need to provision a physical host to install MUMC on.

Additionally once the Master Shutdown duration has been reached will the UPS only turn off the outlet that is connected to the host or will all outlets be powered off.

Thanks again!

Richard  

Hi Richard,

The "Shutdown now" command (when countdown timer has expired) is the last command that the MUMC software sends.  Beyond this point it is OK to shut down the VM running MUMC.  All outlets will be powered off when the sequence is complete, hence why in the original example the total time derrived from [Shutdown after] + [Shutdown duration] should be considered for all devices attached to the UPS.

Andy

Hi Andy

All this information has been very helpful, thanks once again!!

Richard

Do you have the images in better resolution?

Hi Viktor,

I just uploaded the original PDF document to DropBox: 

Dell UPS Shutdown Sequence Timing Examples:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/78627542/DellUPS_TechNotes/DellUPS_SoftwareShutdownSequence_TimingExamples.pdf

Some other files that you or others might find useful:

General setup guide for VMware with vCentre:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/78627542/DellUPS_TechNotes/Dell-TIN-UPS003_VMware_vCenter_Shutdown_Scenarios-10-11-12.pdf

Common Software Installation Scenarios (non-virtualized OS, or virtualized OS using ULNM as local agent):
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/78627542/DellUPS_TechNotes/Dell-TIN-UPS002_Common_Software_Installation_Scenarios-10-11-12.pdf

How to shutdown EQL arrays with simple scripting:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/78627542/DellUPS_StorageManagement/EQL%20Array%20Shutdown%20with%20Dell%20UPS.docx
Example script: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/78627542/DellUPS_StorageManagement/eql-shutdown%20(rename%20to%20ps1).txt

How to shutdown Compellent Arrays (German, but lots of screenshots):
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/78627542/DellUPS_StorageManagement/Dell%20USV%20Konfiguration%20f%C3%BCr%20Compellent%20Storage%20Center%20Shutdown.pdf

Let me know if I can help with anything else.

Andy

Hi Andy,

I do not understand exactly how the MUMC works.

"MUMC send maintenance mode command to host"

This command is defined as alarm ?

The MUMC send shutdown command to each VM or to the vCenter?

If the MUMC send shutdown command to the vCenter (defined as alarm) so, I must to configure the shutdown process of each VM in vCenter?

"com.eaton.event.ups.powersummary.presentstatus.acppresent.1 or 2" this string is only one string that MUMC sends?

Viktor

Hi Viktor,

Have a look through the document below, it gives you answers to most of your questions, but in short:

- MUMC sends commands to vCentre.  vCentre handles the rest (VM activity, host shutdown etc).
- MUMC sends commands to vCentre (I don't know the specific mechanics) but also sends alarms to the alarm panel so you can see/report what events are taking place.
- In general each VM response to "maintenance mode" or "shutdown" requests is defined within your cluster/host settings.  The document below gives some examples.

General setup guide for VMware with vCentre:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/78627542/DellUPS_TechNotes/Dell-TIN-UPS003_VMware_vCenter_Shutdown_Scenarios-10-11-12.pdf

Andy