Topic: DNS and Remote Shutdown

[joeyjoejoey1]

SME server is great but I want to move it into the orange area of ipcop which requires the server to have my isp's dns inorder to access the internet is this possible to add?
Also I have got a apc smart ups for the server but it only has two outputs for serial but the other two servers are using them in order for them to shutdown when there is a powerloss. If I could find out the link that shutsdown the server via the server manager, I could get my 2003 server to shut it down that way once the ups informs it of the failiure!
Thanks for any help!!!!

[raem]

joeyjoejoey1

Perhaps you want to look at it the other way around.
Using Darrell Mays APCUPSD contrib, the UPS signals the sme server. The server is a Master (in APC parlance).
You also install the Windows version of APC software on the Windows boxes, configred as slaves.
When the UPS detects power loss it sends a signal to the sme server Master which then sends a signal to the Windows slave workstations and the result is the server, workstations & UPS will all shutdown.
See
http://mirror.contribs.org/smeserver/contribs/index.php?subdir=dmay%2Fsmeserver%2F5.x%2Fcontrib%2Fapcupsd&sortby=name
and
http://www.sibbald.com/

[joeyjoejoey1]

Hi,
Thanks for your reply that looks like it will work quite well!! Will the version for the sme server work with what I install on my windows pc?

[raem]

joeyjoejoey1

> Will the version for the sme server work with what I install on my windows pc?

That's the idea. It works on my system.
Read the info at the sites mentioned for further config details.

[CharlieBrady]

SME server is great but I want to move it into the orange area of ipcop which requires the server to have my isp's dns inorder to access the internet

The SME server doesn't need your ISP's DNS settings to operate. It contains a fully fledged DNS resolver, possibly even better than the one your ISP provides.

[joeyjoejoey1]

I have installed apcupsd on sme which seems ok, but with the windows installation its very unclear as to how you do this and how you allow the sme server to tell the windows pc to shutdown! I'm not a linux buff so its all greek to em!

I will give the dns ago as it is but sureuly the dns resolver needs some dns details?
Cheers

[CharlieBrady]

I will give the dns ago as it is but sureuly the dns resolver needs some dns details?

The dns resolver already knows the addresses of the "root" name servers. That's all it needs.

Windows doesn't have a fully fledged resolver, so it needs to know the address of systems which do have one.

[joeyjoejoey1]

Ah that makes sense, cheers

[raem]

joeyjoejoey1

> I have installed apcupsd on sme which seems ok

So you now have a nice server manager panel to configure all the options, including  the IP of a Windows slave workstation or server.

> with the windows installation its very unclear as > to how you do this and how you allow the sme
> server to tell the windows pc to shutdown!

As I already said please read the manual, do you really expect to know how something works without reading the manual.

A quick introduction follows:

It is basically the same on a windows machine.
Unpack the Win tar/zip file and copy the contents to your C: drive.
eg c:\apcupsd
There is a subfolder structure and you will find the exe's in c:\apcupsd\bin
From memory run the install.bat file, and also you will need to start the service using start.bat.
It depends on your version of Win OS.
I suggest you read the manual carefully for exact details, that 's what I did and it wasn't too hard to get it running.

The config file is in c:\apcupsd\etc\apcupsd
Edit apcupsd.conf to suit your situation, particularly changing the IP location of the Master server (ie sme's IP) & other details eg TIMEOUT. It is very similar to the config file that you edit in sme server manager, so you can compare the details.

Then you need to restart the Windows apcupsd service after making any changes to apcupsd.conf.

If power fails & the UPS signals sme via the serial interface, then sme will signal the Windows slave via the LAN and sme & windows box will shutdown after the TIMEOUT period or when battery failure is imminent.
Remember to have the BIOS's in both boxes set to power up upon AC power return, that way the servers will restart when power returns.
If you also have Windows workstations set as slaves you may not want them to restart automatically.


From the readme.txt file:

             apcupsd-3.8.0 Win32


This is the binary distribution of apcupsd for Win32
systems (Win95, Win98 and WinNT, and possibly Win2000).

INSTALLATION

1. From InstallShield Setup

Run the Setup program and follow the instructions.
Be careful in following these guidelines:

  1.1 You can select the Setup type

  1.2 Don't change the default installation directory:
      it must be c:\apcupsd or the program will not work.
      We've been very careful to avoid root directory
      pollution.

  1.3 In the last dialog you will be asked to run a program.
      It is needed to register apcupsd inside the system
      registry. Please run it. If you choose not to run it
      you can always run the setup.bat program later from the
      apcupsd installation directory but until you do it,
      apcupsd will not work.

2. From TAR Archive

To install it, please UnZip (or detar) the distribution
file into your root directory on drive c:\  then follow
the instructions in the online manual viewable by any
Internet Browser (Netscape, Microsoft Internet Explorer).
The manual can be found in c:\apcupsd\manual.