You may want to use your server to control multiple UPSes. This is possible by proper configuration and by running one copy of apcupsd for each UPS to be controlled (recall the Configuration types.).
The way to accomplish the above is to ensure that none of the critical files used by each of the two copies of apcupsd are the same. By using suitable configuration options, this is possible.
For example, assuming you have SmartUPSes in both cases, to configure and install the first copy of apcupsd, which controls a UPS and Computer A, one could use the following configuration:
./configure \ --prefix=/usr \ --sbindir=/sbin \ --with-cgi-bin=/home/http/cgi-bin \ --enable-cgi \ --with-css-dir=/home/http/css \ --with-log-dir=/etc/apcupsd \ --with-serial-dev=/dev/ttyS0 \ --with-nis-port=3551
This is pretty much a ``normal'' installation using many of the defaults. Once built and installed, this would control the first UPS and cause a shutdown of the system when the batteries are low. This copy of apcupsd will be started and stopped automatically when the system is booted and halted.
To configure and install the second copy of apcupsd, which controls the second UPS and Computer B, you could use the following configuration:
./configure \ --prefix=$HOME/apcupsd/bin \ --sbindir=$HOME/apcupsd/bin \ --enable-cgi \ --with-cgi-bin=$HOME/apcupsd/bin \ --with-log-dir=$HOME/apcupsd/bin \ --with-pid-dir=$HOME/apcupsd/bin \ --sysconfdir=$HOME/apcupsd/bin \ --with-lock-dir=$HOME/apcupsd/bin \ --with-pwrfail-dir=$HOME/apcupsd/bin \ --with-serial-dev=/dev/ttyS1 \ --with-nis-port=7001 \ --disable-install-distdir
Note, in this case, we use considerably more configuration options to ensure
that the system files are placed in a different directory
($HOME/apcupsd/bin). We have also selected a different serial port and a
different NIS (Network Information Server) port. And finally, we have used the
--
disable-install-distdir option, which prevents make install from
doing the final system installation (i.e. the modification of the halt script)
since this was previously done.
After the make install of the second copy of apcupsd there are a number important steps to complete. You must either remove or modify the file $HOME/apcupsd/bin/apccontrol, so that it will not shutdown Computer A when the battery of UPS 2 is low. One suggestion is to copy examples/safe.apccontrol into $HOME/apcupsd/bin/apccontrol. Alternatively, you could edit the $HOME/apcupsd/bin/apccontrol and delete all statements that attempt to shutdown the machine. Another important step is to find a way to shutdown Computer B when UPS 2's battery is low. Probably the simplest way to do this is to edit $HOME/apcupsd/bin/apcupsd.conf on Computer A so that this second copy of apcupsd becomes a network master. Then install a standard slave configuration on Computer B. Please remember that if UPS 1's batteries are exhausted before UPS 2's batteries, Computer B may not be properly shutdown. And at the current time, there is no simple means to make the two copies of apcupsd running on Computer A communicate. Thus there are certain risks in such a configuration. However, these configurations can be very useful for powering electronic equipment and such.
If Computer B is vitally important, it would probably be better to purchase a serial port card for it, or perhaps use a USB UPS. To ensure that it is properly shutdown if Computer A goes down, you could run a second copy of apcupsd on Computer B as a slave connected to the main copy of apcupsd on Computer A. Thus Computer B would be running two slaves, one driven by the master controlling UPS 1 and the other by the master controlling UPS 2, and Computer B could be shutdown by the first master that signaled it to do so.