[Nut-upsdev] Minutemen UPS Driver

[Ted Mittelstaedt]

My personal experience with a number of UPSes that are monitored via USB 
cable is that communications errors such as the ones referenced in the 
issue you linked to below are a result of USB hardware incompatibilities 
between the USB chipset and the USB port on the motherboard.*  This is 
NOT specific to the NUT project as it affects both apcupsd and in fact, 
has been reported as an issue with certain Windows systems and UPS brands.

The true reality here is that nobody can rely on a UPS for reliable 
automated server shutdowns.  If you need true reliability you need a 
generator on a maintenance contract, and a UPS that gets mandatory 
battery replacements every 3 years and the UPS's purpose is only to 
carry the server while the generator spins up.

The only thing that monitoring a UPS is good for is REDUCING the 
frequency of unexpected shutdowns that require an extensive fsck on 
restart.  In other words - if you aren't willing to pay the money to 
REPLACE your Minuteman UPS with a model that is better supported, and 
use serial port monitoring instead of USB monitoring (since serial ports 
are more likely to not have compatibility issues) then you aren't even 
in the class to even start demanding you will have reliable shutdowns.  
What you are going to get from NUT + your Minuteman UPS is all you can 
expect - and it's going to be better than a completely unmonitored UPS 
so take it and be happy with it.  And, hedge your bets by using ext3 
mounted with data=journal option, or use zfs and get familiar with what 
zfs-scrub does and how to use it, and what zpool status does and how to 
use it to repair a corrupt pool (AKA delete the file that's corrupted) 
on a battery-backup hardware RAID card.

Ted

* Some people have found the insertion of a cheap USB hub in between the 
UPS and the motherboard will fix USB communication errors. YMMV

On 12/14/2023 6:12 AM, Charles Lepple via Nut-upsdev wrote:
> I think the problem is that there were some communication errors, as 
> noted here: https://github.com/networkupstools/nut/issues/555
>
> I would want to test thoroughly before relying on it for automated 
> shutdowns.
>
> -- 
> Charles Lepple
> clepple at gmail
>
>> On Dec 14, 2023, at 8:35 AM, Jim Klimov via Nut-upsdev 
>> <nut-upsdev at alioth-lists.debian.net> wrote:
>>
>> That's MinutemAn and such a key word exists in usbhid-ups subdriver 
>> tripplite-hid :)
>>
>>
>> Specifically, the "PRO RT 2U" series is among the few mentioned by name:
>> ````
>> $ git grep -i minuteman
>> NEWS.adoc:   * add Delta Minuteman UPS VID/PID [PR #1230, issues #555 
>> and #1227]
>> drivers/tripplite-hid.c:/* Delta/Minuteman */
>> drivers/tripplite-hid.c:        /* Delta/Minuteman Enterprise Plus 
>> E1500RM2U */
>> drivers/tripplite-hid.c:        /* Delta/Minuteman PRO1500RT2U */
>> ````
>>
>>   Oddly, it seems nobody posted it to neither HCL nor DDL so far...
>>
>> Hope this helps,
>> Jim Klimov
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Dec 14, 2023 at 1:08 PM James Parascand via Nut-upsdev 
>> <nut-upsdev at alioth-lists.debian.net> wrote:
>>
>>     I am wondering if there is a way to have Nut Server monitor a
>>     Minutemen UPS.
>>
>>     https://minutemanups.com/uninterruptible-power-supply/pro-rt2u-line-interactive-uninterruptible-power-supply/
>>
>>     Thanks
>>     James
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