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Xref: sserve comp.os.linux.development:12377 comp.unix.bsd:14417 Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!msuinfo!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!gatech!udel!news.sprintlink.net!nwnexus!news.halcyon.com!coho!mpdillon From: mpdillon@coho.halcyon.com (Michael Dillon) Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.development,comp.unix.bsd Subject: Re: APC UPS owners or potential buyers, trying to show user base Date: 28 Jul 1994 06:44:53 GMT Organization: NWNEXUS, Inc. - Making Internet Easy Lines: 72 Message-ID: <317k55$kq3@news.halcyon.com> References: <316bjc$hlh@thor.tjhsst.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: coho.halcyon.com In article <316bjc$hlh@thor.tjhsst.edu>, Craig Metz <cmetz@thor.tjhsst.edu> wrote: > I had a talk today with Debbie Gray (sp?) of American Power Conversion >regarding trying to get information on how to communicate with their Smart >UPS products' onboard controllers in order to write a Linux driver. APC is >one of the *many* manufacturers that plays the old NDA game, i.e., ``we >consider that to be proprietary information that we have to protect''. H Really now! Those boxes use an RS-232 interface, right? What do they tell the computer? If they only communicate one thing (power fail) then it is probably something as simple as shorting the RD and SD lines. Get a technician to check it out for you while you pull the plug. If they are giving more info than that, then it probably can be reverse engineered with simple program to monitor the incoming serial port. I remember a UPS that we set up about 7 years ago. I provided two terminals on the box that it shorted together when the power failed. We hooked them up to pins 2 and 3 on a serial port and made a little shell script daemon that periodically checked for powerfail every five minutes. When it got two hits in a row, it shutdown the system. >she seemed to at least not be a brick wall to the idea of trying to change >this policy so that a freely redistributable in source form Linux driver could >be done. She told me that she will be talking to her supervisor when he's >back from Interop next week about this. > > In cases like this, money talks. If it can be shown that opening up >to the Linux community (and the *BSD community, as well) would net them a >significant number of sales, they would be far more likely to decide to open >up than if it's just me. > > So, I ask, could people who (or whose employer): > > * Own an APC Smart UPS used with a machine that is or will be a > Linux or *BSD system > > (or) > > * Are planning to purchase a smart UPS for use with a Linux or > *BSD system > > Please get in touch with me, letting me know what size (sizes, or >size range) UPS and how many units are involved. I will be using this >information to show that the Linux and *BSD markets are significant enough >that it is worth their while to reconsider their policies. > > Also, if anyone has had experiences with other manufaturers of >smart UPS units trying to get programming/driver information from them, >please let me know. If APC doesn't change their line, I want to know who >*does* do things in the open -- that'll be who gets my business. > > -Craig >Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.development,comp.unix.bsd >Subject: foo >Summary: >Followup-To: >Distribution: >Organization: The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology >Keywords: >Cc: > -- Michael Dillon Internet: mpdillon@halcyon.halcyon.com C-4 Powerhouse Fidonet: 1:353/350 RR #2 Armstrong, BC V0E 1B0 Voice: +1-604-546-8022 Canada BBS: +1-604-546-2705