Fixing USP Nut 0.8.6 for Cacti 1.2.2

Eric A. Hall wrote a nice monitoring package for Cacti in PHP and XML.

Network UPS Tools (NUT) UPS Monitor

Originally you copied one script and two xml files into place and then configured Cacti to enable the monitoring script and import the XML template for the Data graphs. But these were written for Cacti 0.8.6 or 0.8.7

The default install for Cacti for Raspberry Pi is version 1.2.2 and the monitoring package fails to work as described for the newer version of Cacti.

Here is how to get it working.

First connect the UPS to the raspberry pi using a USB cable

Second setup the NUT monitoring demon on the raspberry pi, as standalone and as the master monitoring daemon for the UPS.

This has been tested with my example:

cyberpower1: 

CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD

get cacti-nut.0.5.tar.gz and unpack

edit  # vi nut_ups_status.xml
add the second line below to the file, use the first line below as a locator to find the right place to put the second line in the file

    <arg_get>get</arg_get>
    <arg_num_indexes>num_indexes</arg_num_indexes>

edit  # vi ss_nut_ups_status.php
remove the first line from the file
add the following lines to the top of the file

#!/bin/php -q
<?php

error_reporting(0);

include_once(dirname(__FILE__) . '/../include/cli_check.php');

[You can test this script modification from the command line.]

# php ss_nut_ups_status.php localhost:: query ups.description

It should return:

root@raspberrypi:/home/pi/cacti-nut/scripts#

php ss_nut_ups_status.php localhost:: query ups.description
cyberpower1:CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD

 

Third install the script and the two xml files to the <cacti_path> = /usr/share/cacti/site/

move the ss_nut_ups_status.php script into its home directory /usr/share/cacti/site/scripts
move the nut_ups_status.xml file into its home directory /usr/share/cacti/site/resource/script_server/

import the template nut_ups_status_data_query.xml from it current location using the cacti Template  Import wizard to navigate the file system and import the nut_ups_status.xml file

Everything else works as previously described by Eric Hall.

Basically it works by executing a PHP script to open a TCP socket connection to the upsd monitoring daemon. You can do this too by installing telnet and then using it to connect to the upsd daemon like this:

telnet localhost 3493
Trying ::1...
Connected to localhost.
Escape character is '^]'.
help
Commands: 

HELP VER GET LIST SET INSTCMD LOGIN LOGOUT USERNAME PASSWORD STARTTLS

ver
Network UPS Tools upsd 2.7.4 - http://www.networkupstools.org/
 

list ups
BEGIN LIST UPS
UPS cyberpower1 "CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD"
END LIST UPS

The "magic" of this monitoring package however is it quickly sets up a data source and graphing templates within cacti and instructs cacti how to interpret and graph the data in cacti terms with very little user input.

Previous error messages I received while figuring this out were:

# php ss_nut_ups_status.php

PHP Notice:  Undefined index: REQUEST_URI in /usr/share/cacti/site/include/global.php on line 425

This is a LOW LEVEL "notification" all it means is that the line (indicated '425') in the global.php file tested for an environment variable that was not set, it is "in fact" never set for any php script execucted from the command line and can be safely ignored.

The following line added to the top of the #ss_nut_ups_status.php script basically "turns" that distracting notification "off".. otherwise even when it was working properly the notification would continuously show up.

error_reporting(0);

And when trying to add the Data query type to the [Device] for the local raspberry pi acting as the UPS monitoring server.. the query type was not "actived" (By DEFAULT no new data query just added or created is activated. Its a separate step to turn it on.) This has to be done on the Data Query page for the UPS Nut configuration page. The Rpi (Node) can't use the Query type until its "activated".

And when Importing the Template there is a (New) feature in Cacti 1.2.2 that (auto-enables) a feature called ('Preview') which "fakes" you out by making you think it has imported the Template.. but look very closely and in small, tiny print, it says.. "This is what it would have done if Preview was not enabled !!!" You have to slide or de-checkify (depends on the Console 'Theme' and Browser type which kind of de-checkify you have to do.. to turn-preview-off !!!)


If you don't already have the Data Query "activated" on it config page, when you try to Import the Template.. many things will "Fail".. activate the Data query "first" and then try Importing again.. 

It will Import 100 percent correct and nothing fails.

After adding the Data Query to the Device as an [Associated Data Queries] entry, it enables a realtime Debug tool called ['Actions'] over to the right for the Data Query line for [Nut - UPS Statistics]

They appear as a "refresh" green circular chasing arrows icon, and a "verbose" yellow circular chasing arrows icon. And a "remove query" red ex.

Clicking on the "yellow" will run run a query and popup the results above the [Associated Data Queries] (section) .. if it says something about "XML and Unsupported" that means the [mandatory] ss_script line in the XML file is missing:

edit  # vi nut_ups_status.xml
add the second line below the first line to the file, use the first line only as a guide to where ot place the second line in the file

    <arg_get>get</arg_get>
    <arg_num_indexes>num_indexes</arg_num_indexes>

The Lightning Detector 52pi and Me

So I've been spending some time with Raspberry Pi's lately.

Normally I like the Google Nest products.. and I still do a lot of that.. but their organizational changes and Googles habit of canceling things without warning has got me back in the mode of "Can I do this myself?"

I had been enthralled with the $5 PiZero for a couple years.. and barely got Teamviewer or VNC server to work on one.. mostly through x86 emulation.. and that was not easy.

This year I finally upgraded to RPi 3b+ just before the RPi 4 came out and got the Teamviewer 11 beta/prototype for linux armf (?) architecture to work.. and it was astoundingly good.

All that I wanted and none that I didn't want.. and it integrated into whatever contacts list I had for my personal or work teamviewer account.. really nice.

I'd experimented with DynDNS way back in the day to build a dynamic router that would bridge ports to services on things on a local lan out to the cloud.. but security and ISP stability pretty much killed that effort. Teamviewer handles a lot of that backend and now that its on Linux (Raspbian) it was just low effort and great.

Finding a case for the Rpi 3b+ I've been through Argon One, and several others settling on a layered "kit case" which sort of sand castle layers itself up from the backplane to however high you want.. I didn't need or want a Top since I planned to use these "hat" modules from 52pi.

So far I've got the Powerboard (has a CPU fan and GPIO pass-thru), a Four SPST relay board and a multiple Sensor board with three Temp sensors, Baromoter, Humidity, Light and Motion sensor all built into one board.  In general the are accessed from the command line over the i2c bus using standard tools like i2cset or i2cdetect ect.. they work great.

 

There is also a LORA board for GPS and GPRS (low speed Internet over cell radio) which I have but haven't popped a Google Fi sim into yet.. I think its not super fast.. not sure what I'll use it for.. a headless Teamviewer session to a console window? I dunno.

I got a Lightning Detector i2c board with a solderless QWIIC connector from Sparkfun and that has been working well.. but I hear from people its not reliable on the i2c bus.. I saw this.. but only when something else was on the bus.. they say its because the Clock SDA (or something) gets mixed up and can't be reset without powering down the board.. so they recommend SPI instead. I guess I'll have to look into that.. but.. on RPi I do have it working and its been generating a lot of data from passing storms.. the data looks genuine and good.

I just got Cacti setup and was starting to create a data source and graph for plotting the total number of strikes versus Time.

My goal is to use the Cacti Threshold plugin Trigger command feature to safeguard a DSL line by breaking the two wire connection to the ISP (and) switching off a USB controlled power monitor and surge protector.. while the RPi hides out behind all this attached to a good sized smart UPS with yet another USB connection to the RPi.. if either the strikes falls to zero.. or the UPS battery gets low.. the RPi can try to enable mains power to recharge the UPS before its totally out of power.

Its quite the project.. but we've had a well house and pump freeze and burst, a new refrigerator fail due to lightning and I've had many DSL routers literally "smoked" by lightning strikes.

I'm hoping this works out.. I couldn't find a cheap solution from Google, Home Depot or Lowes and nothing online that doesn't really work for the consumer.. only for something like a Data Center or a TV station.

As an example here is how to low effort manipulate the Relays:

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ i2cset -y 1 0x10 0x01 0xff  + On
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ i2cset -y 1 0x10 0x01 0x00 - Off

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ i2cset -y 1 0x10 0x02 0xff
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ i2cset -y 1 0x10 0x02 0x00

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ i2cset -y 1 0x10 0x03 0x00
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ i2cset -y 1 0x10 0x03 0xff

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ i2cset -y 1 0x10 0x04 0x00
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ i2cset -y 1 0x10 0x04 0xff


And to read all the Sensors with a simple command line C program:

root@raspberrypi:~# ./sensor

No external temperature sensor!
Current onboard sensor brightness = 784 Lux
Current onboard sensor temperature = 29 Celsius
Current onboard sensor humidity = 35 %
Current barometer temperature = 29 Celsius
Current barometer pressure = 100829 Pascal
Live body detected within 5 seconds!

I haven't really got into the LoRA board yet.. but it looks like fun:

These are available through GeeekPi and Amazon or direct from China for pretty low cost and the build quality is actually really nice.

There is a Wiki with samples for Bash, Python and Java or C examples programs and quite a bit of documentation.

52pi.com Hat Stack

I hope they're doing well because you need very little in the way of soldering skills to connect all the modules and start programming. Its nice to have simple snap together IoT  devices with "total control" from a Bash command line, script, or language.

Some of the details and a few instructions are lacking a character here or there.. but if they paid for a really good translator.. I'm sure it would raise the price of these really nice modules.