[Nut-upsuser] Trouble connecting to apc smart 1500 via serial cable

[Grzegorz Adam Hankiewicz]

Hello.

I've been running a two machine setup with a mge-shut for some time
without problems, and now I'm configuring a three machine setup with an
APC Smart 1500.

The UPS has three machines connected to it, in a peculiar way: one
windows machine is connected via USB. The second windows machine is
using an agent to monitor messages from the first windows machine. Then,
I have a GNU/Linux Debian etch machine connected to the ups via serial
cable. The cable is not grey, it is black, which AFAIK is one of those
smart cables.

But it's not working for me:

# cat ups.conf
[apc_chute]
          driver = apcsmart
          port = /dev/ttyS0
          desc = "matrix"
          #cable = 940-0024C
# upsdrvctl start apc_chute
Network UPS Tools - UPS driver controller 2.0.4
Network UPS Tools (version 2.0.4) - APC Smart protocol driver
          Driver version 1.99.8, command table version 2.0
Unable to detect an APC Smart protocol UPS on port /dev/ttyS0
Check the cabling, port name or model name and try again
Driver failed to start (exit status=1)

Just in case I tried that with ttyS1, but that reports an IO error, so I
guess that ttyS0 is the only serial connector on the machine. AFAIK the
serial cable works, or at least it was supposed to work, since
originally the setup was the two windows machines connected to the UPS,
one of them via serial cable, another usb cable. I tried using the cable
variable with both C and B ending strings, all failed.

I'm thinking that my cable is wrong, or that /dev/ttyS0 is not really
working as it should, since the UPS is listed as one of the supported
models, though I've read many use the USB cable.

I've scanned the mailing list archives by subject without solution, and
googled for apcsmart  "Unable to detect an APC Smart protocol UPS on
port" without results. Can somebody tell me what could I try first? Or
how to check that the cable is working? Maybe the UPS doesn't really
work with both cables at the same time and I was previously deluded
about the second windows machine being safe?

PD: I want a box full of queequeg.

-- 
Grzegorz Adam Hankiewicz, Jefe de producto de TeraVial
Rastertech España S.A.    Tel: +34 918 467 390, ext 18.
http://www.rastertech.es/    ghankiewicz at rastertech.es