User manual

US 8,510,424 B2
operation or control of the network-equipment units 3 08-3 12.
The network agent 326 converts software commands com
municated in the form of TCP/IP datapackets 328 into signals
the remote power manager can use. For example, messages
can be sent from the NMS 302 that will cause the remote
power manager 320 to operate the power relay-switches in the
power-distribution strip 314. In reverse, voltage, current, and
temperature readings collected by the sensor 316 are col
lected by the remote power manager 320 and encoded by the
network agent 326 into appropriate datapackets 328.
The NMS 302 typically comprises a network interface
controller (NIC) 332 connected to a computer platform and
its operating system 334. A disk 335 represents systems and
applications software that can be loaded on the computer
platform and its operating system 334 to control the network
agent 326. The computer platform and its operating system
334 typically include Microsoft WINDOWS-NT, or any other
similar commercial product. This preferably supports or
includes a Telnet application 336, a network browser 338,
and/or an SNMP application 340 with an appropriate MIB
342. A terminal emulation program or user terminal 344 is
provided so a user can manage the system 300 from a single
console.
Many commercial network devices provide a contact or
logic-level input port that can be usurped for the “tickle”
signal. Cisco Systems routers, for example, provide an input
that can be supported in software to issue the necessary mes
sage and identi?er to the system administrator. A device inter
rupt has been described here because it demands immediate
system attention, but a polled input port could also be used.
Network information is generally exchanged with protocol
data unit (PDU) messages, which are objects that contain
variables and have both titles and values. SNMP uses ?ve
types of PDUs to monitor a network. Two deal with reading
terminal data, two deal with setting terminal data, and one, the
trap, is used for monitoring network events such as terminal
start-ups or shut-downs. When a user wants to see if a terminal
is attached to the network, for example, SNMP is used to send
out a read PDU to that terminal. If the terminal is attached, a
user receives back a PDU with a value “yes, the terminal is
attached”. If the terminal was shut off, a user would receive a
packet informing them of the shutdown with a trap PDU.
In alternative embodiments of the present invention, it may
be advantageous to include the power manager and intelligent
power module functions internally as intrinsic components of
an uninterruptable power supply (UPS). In applications
where it is too late to incorporate such functionally, external
plug-in assemblies are preferred such that off-the-shelf UPS
systems can be used.
Once a user has installed and con?gured the power man
ager, it is necessary to establish a connection to the power
manager. About any terminal or terminal emulation program
can be chosen for use with the power manager.
For modem access, the communication software is
launched that supports ANSI or VT100 terminal emulation to
dial the phone number of the external modem attached to the
power manager. When the modems connect, a user should see
a “CONNECT” message. A user then presses the enter key to
send a carriage return.
When setting up the power manager for the ?rst time, the
?rst modem call made to the power manager should be made
with the dialing modem set to 9600 bits per second (BPS),
which is the factory default modem data rate for the power
manager. This should guarantee that the ?rst connection will
succeed, after which the power manager’ s modem initializa
tion data rate can be increased with the “SET MODEM
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RATE” command and the dialing modem’s data rate can be
increased in the communication software
For direct RS-232C access, a user starts any serial commu
nication software that supports ANSI or VT100 terminal
emulation. The program must con?gure the serial port to one
of the supported data rates (38400, 19200, 9600, 4800, 2400,
1200, and 300 BPS), along with no parity, 8 data bits, and one
stop bit, and must assert its Device Ready signal (DTR or
DSR). A user then presses the Enter key to send a carriage
return.
For Ethernet Network Connections, a user connects to the
power manager by using a TELNET program and connecting
to the TCP/IP address con?gured for the ServerTech MSSl
installed in the power manager. The power manager will
automatically detect the data rate of the carriage return and
send a username login prompt back to a user, starting a ses
sion. After the carriage return, a user will receive a banner that
consists of the word “power manager” followed by the current
power manager version string and a blank line and then a
“Username:” prompt.
Regarding “power manager Version X.Xx,
Username: ”, the power manager Banner will be
displayed after the initial connection or after the LOGIN
command. In response to the “Username:” prompt, a user
enters a valid username string. A username is a character
string up to 16 characters long followed by a carriage return.
Usernames may not contain either spaces or the colon “:”
character. Usernames are not case sensitive. A user has up to
60 seconds to enter a username string. If data is not entered
with in the time limit, the session is ended with the following
message: “Sorry the time is up. Try again later!”
After a user responds to the “Username:” prompt, a user
will be prompted for an associated password with the “Pass
word:” prompt.
Regarding “Password: ”, the power manager
will not echo characters typed in response to the password
prompt. Passwords are up to 16 characters and are case sen
sitive. Alphanumeric and other typeable characters (ASCII 32
to 126 decimal) may be used. The power manager will vali
date a usemame/password strings against the internal table of
usemames/passwords that has been previously de?ned. If a
user enters an invalid username string or password, the power
manager will send an error message as follows: “Sorry, a
usemame/ Password a user has entered is NOT valid! ”. A user
will then receive the “Username:” prompt again. A user will
have three chances to enter a correct usemame/password. If a
valid usemame/ password is not speci?ed on the third attempt,
the following message will be sent: “Check the Username/
Password and try again later!”. The current user session will
thenbe ended. As with a username, a user has up to 60 seconds
to enter a password string. If data is not entered with in the
time limit, the session is ended with the following message:
“Sorry the time is up. Try again later!”.
The power manager allows up to 128 usemames to be
de?ned. The system has three built username/password pairs.
The power manager supports a two -level username/password
scheme. There is one system-administrative level username
(ADMN), and up to 128 general-user level usemames.
A user logged in with the administrative username
(ADMN) can control power and make con?guration changes.
A user logged in with a general username can control power.
Also, while a user logged in with the administrative username
can control power to all IPMs, a user logged in with a general
username may be restricted to controlling power to a speci?c
IPM or set of IPMs, as con?gured by the administrator.