Nutanix AHV: UPS with Outlet Groups

Example 1: Turn off the Outlet Group enabled, AFS shutdown enabled, abort active replications enabled, no shutdown command file or SSH action configured.

PowerChute is installed on a physical machine outside the Cluster, configured for a Single/Redundant UPS configuration with several Nutanix Hosts in a Cluster. The option to Turn off the Outlet Group is enabled on the Shutdown Settings page. No shutdown command file or SSH action configured. The durations in this example are as follows:

When a critical UPS event, such as On Battery occurs, the following sequence is triggered.

  1. PowerChute reports that the UPS is on battery.
  2. After the shutdown delay configured for the On Battery event has elapsed, PowerChute issues a command to turn off the Outlet Group and the Outlet Group turn off starts.
  3. PowerChute issues a command on the Nutanix Controller VMs to shut down User VMs.
  4. After 120 seconds (VM Shutdown Delay), PowerChute shuts down Acropolis File Services and the AFS VMs.
  5. After 60 seconds (AFS Shutdown Delay), PowerChute aborts any ongoing VM replications.
  6. After 80 seconds (Abort Active Replications Duration), PowerChute shuts down the Nutanix Cluster.
  7. After 60 seconds (Cluster Shutdown Delay), PowerChute issues a command to shut down the Controller VMs.
  8. After 120 seconds (Controller VM Shutdown Delay), PowerChute issues commands to shut down the Nutanix Hosts.
  9. PowerChute issues the operating system shutdown command.
  10. After a 70 second delay, the operating system on the physical machine running PowerChute starts to shut down.
  11. The Outlet Group will turn off after the Power Off Delay (configurable on the ConfigurationOutlet Group page in the NMC user interface) has elapsed.

It is recommended that the Outlet Group Power Off Delay is configured to allow enough time for the operating system shutdown to complete. You should allow extra time to ensure that the Outlet Group does not turn off before the operating system.


Example 2: Turn off the Outlet Group enabled, shutdown command file configured.

PowerChute is installed on a physical machine outside the Cluster, configured for a Single/Redundant UPS configuration with several Nutanix Hosts in a Cluster. The option to Turn off the Outlet Group is enabled on the Shutdown Settings page. A shutdown command file is configured. The durations in this example are as follows:

When a critical UPS event, such as On Battery occurs, the following sequence is triggered.

  1. PowerChute reports that the UPS is on battery.
  2. After the shutdown delay configured for the On Battery event has elapsed, PowerChute issues a command to turn off the Outlet Group and the Outlet Group turn off starts.
  3. PowerChute issues a command on the Nutanix Controller VMs to shut down User VMs.
  4. After 120 seconds (VM Shutdown Duration), PowerChute shuts down Acropolis File Services and the AFS VMs.
  5. After 60 seconds (AFS Shutdown Duration), PowerChute aborts any ongoing VM replications.
  6. After 80 seconds (Abort Active Replications Duration), PowerChute shuts down the Nutanix Cluster.
  7. After 60 seconds (Cluster Shutdown Duration), PowerChute issues a command to shut down the Controller VMs.
  8. After 120 seconds (Controller VM Shutdown Delay), PowerChute starts to execute the shutdown command file.
  9. After the delay configured for the command file has elapsed, PowerChute issues commands to shut down the Nutanix Hosts.
  10. An additional 70 second delay is counted down before the operating system starts to shut down.
  11. The Outlet Group will turn off after the Power Off Delay (configurable on the ConfigurationOutlet Group page in the NMC user interface) has elapsed.

It is recommended that the outlet group Power Off Delay is configured to allow enough time for the operating system shutdown to complete. You should allow extra time to ensure that the outlet group does not turn off before the operating system.


Example 3: Turn off the Outlet Group enabled, shutdown command file configured, Execute Command File after Host Shutdown enabled.

PowerChute is installed on a physical machine outside the Cluster, configured for a Single/Redundant UPS configuration with several Nutanix Hosts in a Cluster. The option to Turn off the Outlet Group is enabled on the Shutdown Settings page. A shutdown command file is configured. Execute Command File after Host Shutdown is enabled, with a delay of 30 seconds applied. The durations in this example are as follows:

When a critical UPS event, such as On Battery occurs, the following sequence is triggered.

  1. PowerChute reports that the UPS is on battery.
  2. After the shutdown delay configured for the On Battery event has elapsed, PowerChute issues a command to turn off the Outlet Group and the Outlet Group turnoff starts.
  3. PowerChute issues a command on the Nutanix Controller VMs to shut down User VMs.
  4. After 120 seconds (VM Shutdown Duration), PowerChute shuts down Acropolis File Services and the AFS VMs.
  5. After 60 seconds (AFS Shutdown Duration), PowerChute aborts any ongoing VM replications.
  6. After 80 seconds (Abort Active Replications Duration), PowerChute shuts down the Nutanix Cluster.
  7. After 60 seconds (Cluster Shutdown Delay), PowerChute issues a command to shut down the Controller VMs.
  8. After 120 seconds (Controller VM Shutdown Delay), PowerChute issues a command to shut down the Nutanix Hosts.
  9. Following the 30 second delay configured for the Execute Command File after Host Shutdown option, PowerChute starts to execute the shutdown command file.
  10. After the duration configured for the shutdown command file has elapsed, an additional 70 second delay is counted down before the operating system starts to shut down.
  11. The Outlet Group will turn off after the Power Off Delay (configurable on the ConfigurationOutlet Group page in the NMC user interface) has elapsed.
  12. It is recommended that the Outlet Group Power Off Delay is configured to allow enough time for the operating system shutdown to complete. You should allow extra time to ensure that the Outlet Group does not turn off before the operating system.

Recommended Power-Off Delays for Outlet Groups

By default, the outlet group Power Off Delay will be the same value as the Low Battery duration configured on the NMC. PowerChute will automatically increase the Power Off Delay for the outlet group it is registered with, if  the total shutdown time it needs is greater than the Power Off Delay.

The total shutdown time includes the following values:

The time required to gracefully shut down your operating system is not covered by the total shutdown time, as PowerChute cannot determine how long it will take to complete.

The Power Off Delay for the outlet group should be long enough for the OS to gracefully shut down. You should add extra time to allow for unforeseen circumstances.

The Low Battery Duration set on the NMC should be equal to or greater than the Power Off Delay for the outlet group.