How to Shut Down a Server

The Shut Down Server action, available through Event Actions... on the Configuration menu, enables PowerChute plus to shut down the server when an event occurs.

Note:
Because of fault tolerance, and longer available runtime, by default, a Symmetra Power Array uses the Shut Down Server action for the
System Shutdown Starting and Low Battery Condition events only. By default, for UPS models other than Symmetra Power Array, the following events initiate the Shut Down Server action:

Events That Use the Shut Down Server Action by Default
Shut Down Server Action Can Be Disabled
Base Module Fan Failure (Matrix-UPS only) Yes
Base Module Power Supply Failure (Matrix-UPS only) Yes
Comm Lost While On Battery Yes
Low Battery Condition No
UPS On Bypass: Failure Yes
UPS Output Overload Yes
System Shutdown Starting No
UPS On Battery1 Yes
1
Caution: If you disable the Shut Down Server action for the UPS On Battery event, the UPS runs on battery and waits for a Low Battery Condition event before PowerChute plus starts to perform a shutdown. See How to Configure System Shutdown and Restart, for more information.

Perform the following steps to configure the Shut Down Server action for an event:

  1. In the "Event Actions" dialog box, highlight the event from the Events list.

  2. Mark the check-box for the Shut Down Server action.

    Note:
    By default, the Shut Down Server action is enabled for all events with a severity code of 3. See
    Events with Their ID Codes, Severity, and UPS Support for information about severity levels.

  3. Click Options... for the Shut Down Server action to open the "Shutdown Server" dialog box.

  4. Use the Begin Shutdown Sequence field to define how long PowerChute plus waits before starting a shutdown.

    The default is 300 seconds for the UPS On Battery event, 60 seconds for the System Shutdown Starting event itself, and 30 seconds for all other events.

    PowerChute plus begins the shutdown only when the event lasts for the defined wait period. For example, for a setting of 10, PowerChute plus does not begin the shutdown if the event lasts less than 10 seconds.

    Note that for the System Shutdown Starting event, you cannot set the value for this field to be greater than the UPS Low Battery Signal Time parameter. This ensures that PowerChute plus will shut down the system while the UPS can still support the attached load during the shutdown.

    Caution:
    Do not change the values in the Begin Shutdown Sequence field for the
    Low Battery Condition or System Shutdown Starting event unless you understand how these delays interact with other shutdown parameters. See How to Configure System Shutdown and Restart, for more information.

  5. Click OK to save your changes and exit the dialog box.

The Shut Down Server action initiates the System Shutdown Starting event only if the condition that caused the event lasts for the number of seconds specified for the Shut Down Server delay value. However, when a shutdown begins, you cannot stop it.