Rackpower

Rackpower is a web-based tool to help sysadmins diagram racks, manage UPS loads, and calculate expected uptimes.

Requirements

• php >= 5.3 (may work with older versions, not tested)
• mysqli module for php
• mysql server
• an httpd

Setup

• Set up the database by importing the provided structure file
• Copy the source code to somewhere your httpd can serve it
• Modify config.inc.php to specify your mysql config and desired access password
• If you are using HTTP auth, you can disable the app's internal auth (which is not very robust)
• If you have an instance of GLPI that you would like to gather additional data from, specify its MySQL information as well
• Nagivate your browser to the URL where you installed Rackpower, and log in
• Use the 'Manage Racks' option to add the desired number of racks
• Use the 'Manage Groups' option to add desired groups
• Use the 'New Entity' option to add entities to the racks. Add UPSs before servers.

Entities fields

• Hardware: Usually used for the name of an entity.
• Type: Specifies whether an entity will provide power, consume power, or neither. For example, a server is a Consumer while a UPS is a Provider. A sliding shelf is neither, so it has the type Other.
• Group: A classification for the entity which specifies its display color. Simply a visual aid, does not affect calculations.
• Position: Specifies where the entity is installed (rack and unit). Cannot overlap with another entity.
• Height: Specifies the height of the entity, in standard U's
• Consumer Parameters: This section is required when configuring a device which consumes power.
  • Total Consumption: The total power consumption of the machine (watts)
  • Power Supply 1-4: Select which UPSs, if any, provides power to the machine. Select the checkbox to enable the supply. If a supply is not enabled, it will be displayed with -strikethrough- and not used to calculate loads or uptimes.
  • GLPI ID: The unique ID for the Computer object in GLPI. Rackpower will display selected information from GLPI if this is set.
• Provider Parameters: This section is required when configuring a device which provides power.
  • Capacity: The maximum capacity of the UPS, in watts
  • Runtime: A formula to calcualte the runtime of the UPS. Since most runtimes have exponential runtime curves, we use R = A * e^(B * W), where R is runtime in minutes and W is the load in watts. The constants A and B will vary with each UPS configuration and are entered here. Use an exponential regression calculator in combination with data from the UPS manual to fill in these fields.
• Comments: Any comments about the device can go here. The comments are displayed as a tooltip when hovering over the entity in the rack.