[Nut-upsdev] Documenting the NUT driver-qualification process

[Arnaud Quette]

Hi Eric,

sorry for the lag, summer time...

I'm first seconding Charles comments

2014-07-09 12:31 GMT+02:00 Eric S. Raymond <esr at thyrsus.com>:

> I think the time for me to get involved in NUT documentation has come
> again.
>

welcome back


> Late last week I had to buy a UPS under time pressure.  The Eaton unit
> that thus project gifted me with in 2006(?) died during a severe
> thunderstorm watch, so it was off to MicroCenter to get a replacement
> pronto.
>
> I wound up buying an APC BN700MC.  It was what they had in the
> performance range I needed.  The removable battery door was pleasing.
>
> Based on the experience, I have updated the UPS HOWTO:
>
> http://www.catb.org/esr/ldp/UPS-HOWTO.html
>
> The bad news, however, is that (a) this is not a NUT-supported device,
>

I've logged an entry for the APC Modbus:
https://github.com/networkupstools/nut/issues/139


> and (b) the (poorly documented) NUT process for discovering and
> customizing a driver failed at the first step.  Running upsstart
> gave a driver fail message containing no clues as to how to recover.
>

yup, definitely room for enhancement!
I've got some ideas, beside from the obvious need to improve the
documentation, that I'll like to discuss.


> This is definitely USB and probably a fairly generic hidups device.
> There is no good reason for customizing a driver profile to be
> so difficult.
>

well, I'm unsure since I'm just opening this "APC Modbus Pandora box"
but if I understand correctly, your new unit is a microlink one.
though the serial version should be Modbus only, I can't say at first if
the USB ones implement if full Modbus over HID or any other mean.
I would need traces to give more info.

anyway, this may not be as generic USB as you think.

What I'd like to do is this: confer in real-time, perhaps via IRC,
> with someone who knows this process.  Ask about every step (thought
> processes and diagnostics).  *Write them down* and turn this into a
> document on how to qualify and support a new device.
>
> Volunteer, please?
>

I am

I would also be more than happy to have you looking more closely at NUT
documentation in general [1].
Charles and myself have worked a lot on the Asciidoc conversion, with some
improvements.
But I know it needs an overall revamp, with usability in mind.
Would you be willing to work on that one?

cheers,
Arno
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