Problem with NUTDRV_QX, subdriver armac - unable start driver

[bdkacz]

Hello

I have this UPS http://armac.pl/oferta/ups-office-line-interactive-o850elcd/

I compiled the latest nut-2.8.0 from sources from file nut-2.8.0.tar.gz

Here is my lsusb output:

Bus 008 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 005 Device 002: ID 2357:0120 TP-Link Archer T2U PLUS [RTL8821AU]
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 006 Device 002: ID 0925:1234 Lakeview Research UPS USB MON V1.4
Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

Then I try this settings in ups.conf :

[poddasze]
    driver = nutdrv_qx
    port   = auto
    vendorid = 0925
    productid = 1234
    subdriver ="armac"
    product = "UPS USB MON V1.4"
    bus = "006"

But when I try upsdrvctl start I get:

Network UPS Tools - UPS driver controller 2.8.0
Network UPS Tools - Generic Q* USB/Serial driver 0.32 (2.8.0)
USB communication driver (libusb 1.0) 0.43
 upsdrvctl startUsing protocol: Megatec 0.06
Can't initialise data from the UPS
Driver failed to start (exit status=1)

So I try to discover more and run ./nutdrv_qx -DDD -a poddasze and get :

Network UPS Tools - Generic Q* USB/Serial driver 0.32 (2.8.0)
USB communication driver (libusb 1.0) 0.43
   0.000000     [D3] do_global_args: var='maxretry' val='3'
   0.000953     [D3] main_arg: var='driver' val='nutdrv_qx'
   0.001053     [D3] main_arg: var='port' val='auto'
   0.001157     [D3] main_arg: var='vendorid' val='0925'
   0.001255     [D3] main_arg: var='productid' val='1234'
   0.001351     [D3] main_arg: var='subdriver' val='armac'
   0.001448     [D3] main_arg: var='product' val='UPS USB MON V1.4'
   0.001536     [D3] main_arg: var='bus' val='006'
   0.001699     [D1] debug level is '3'
   0.003620     [D1] upsdrv_initups...
   0.085404     [D2] Checking device 1 of 10 (1D6B/0001)
   0.085827     [D1] Failed to open device (1D6B/0001), skipping: Access denied (insufficient permissions)
   0.085941     [D2] Checking device 2 of 10 (2357/0120)
   0.086079     [D1] Failed to open device (2357/0120), skipping: Access denied (insufficient permissions)
   0.086163     [D2] Checking device 3 of 10 (1D6B/0002)
   0.086289     [D1] Failed to open device (1D6B/0002), skipping: Access denied (insufficient permissions)
   0.086365     [D2] Checking device 4 of 10 (1D6B/0001)
   0.086485     [D1] Failed to open device (1D6B/0001), skipping: Access denied (insufficient permissions)
   0.086560     [D2] Checking device 5 of 10 (1D6B/0002)
   0.086683     [D1] Failed to open device (1D6B/0002), skipping: Access denied (insufficient permissions)
   0.086755     [D2] Checking device 6 of 10 (0925/1234)
   0.095368     [D2] - VendorID: 0925
   0.095425     [D2] - ProductID: 1234
   0.095456     [D2] - Manufacturer: ?
   0.095484     [D2] - Product: UPS USB MON V1.4
   0.095511     [D2] - Serial Number: unknown
   0.095542     [D2] - Bus: 006
   0.095568     [D2] - Device: unknown
   0.095593     [D2] - Device release number: 0001
   0.095618     [D2] Trying to match device
   0.095649     [D3] match_function_regex: matching a device...
   0.096184     [D2] Device matches
   0.096234     [D2] Reading first configuration descriptor
   0.096300     [D3] libusb_kernel_driver_active() returned 0
   0.096413     [D2] Claimed interface 0 successfully
   0.096457     [D3] nut_usb_set_altinterface: skipped libusb_set_interface_alt_setting(udev, 0, 0)
   0.096551     [D2] armac: unsupported cmd: QGS
   0.096596     [D2] qx_process_answer: short reply (input.voltage)
   0.096632     [D2] armac: unsupported cmd: QGS
   0.096664     [D2] qx_process_answer: short reply (input.voltage)
   0.096697     [D2] armac: unsupported cmd: QGS
   0.096774     [D2] qx_process_answer: short reply (input.voltage)
   0.096822     [D2] armac: unsupported cmd: M
   0.096859     [D2] voltronic_qs_protocol: invalid protocol [M]
   0.096891     [D2] armac: unsupported cmd: M
   0.096925     [D2] voltronic_qs_protocol: invalid protocol [M]
   0.096957     [D2] armac: unsupported cmd: M
   0.096990     [D2] voltronic_qs_protocol: invalid protocol [M]
   0.097022     [D2] armac: unsupported cmd: M
   0.097060     [D2] voltronic_qs_hex_protocol: invalid protocol [M]
   0.097092     [D2] armac: unsupported cmd: M
   0.097127     [D2] voltronic_qs_hex_protocol: invalid protocol [M]
   0.097160     [D2] armac: unsupported cmd: M
   0.097193     [D2] voltronic_qs_hex_protocol: invalid protocol [M]
   0.097225     [D2] armac: unsupported cmd: QS
   0.097258     [D2] qx_process_answer: short reply (input.voltage)
   0.097289     [D2] armac: unsupported cmd: QS
   0.097320     [D2] qx_process_answer: short reply (input.voltage)
   0.097350     [D2] armac: unsupported cmd: QS
   0.097381     [D2] qx_process_answer: short reply (input.voltage)
   0.097413     [D2] armac: unsupported cmd: D
   0.097444     [D2] qx_process_answer: short reply (input.voltage)
   0.097476     [D2] armac: unsupported cmd: D
   0.097507     [D2] qx_process_answer: short reply (input.voltage)
   0.097538     [D2] armac: unsupported cmd: D
   0.097568     [D2] qx_process_answer: short reply (input.voltage)
   1.306422     [D3] armac command Q1 response read: '(230.0 000.0 233.0 008 49.0 13.7 30.8 00001'
   2.494469     [D3] armac command ID response read: '#                           V2.63     '
   3.702449     [D3] armac command Q1 response read: '(231.0 000.0 232.0 008 49.0 13.7 30.8 00001'
   4.890439     [D3] armac command ID response read: '#                           V2.63     '
   6.098435     [D3] armac command Q1 response read: '(231.0 000.0 233.0 009 49.0 13.7 30.8 00001'
   7.287404     [D3] armac command ID response read: '#                           V2.63     '
   8.495400     [D3] armac command Q1 response read: '(228.0 000.0 231.0 008 49.0 13.7 30.8 00001'
   8.495640     [D2] armac: unsupported cmd: QPI
   8.495718     [D2] qx_process_answer: short reply (ups.firmware.aux)
   9.713366     [D3] armac command Q1 response read: '(229.0 000.0 231.0 008 49.0 13.7 30.8 00001'
   9.713591     [D2] armac: unsupported cmd: QPI
   9.713670     [D2] qx_process_answer: short reply (ups.firmware.aux)
  10.931370     [D3] armac command Q1 response read: '(229.0 000.0 230.0 009 50.0 13.7 30.8 00001'
  10.931597     [D2] armac: unsupported cmd: QPI
  10.931674     [D2] qx_process_answer: short reply (ups.firmware.aux)
  12.149365     [D3] armac command Q1 response read: '(231.0 000.0 233.0 009 49.0 13.7 30.8 00001'
  13.337335     [D3] armac command I response read: '#                           V2.63     '
  13.337526     Using protocol: Megatec 0.06
  13.337683     [D1] upsdrv_initinfo...
  14.555319     [D3] armac command Q1 response read: '(231.0 000.0 233.0 008 49.0 13.7 30.8 00001'
  14.555554     [D2] qx_process_answer: short reply (output.voltage)
  14.555647     [D2] qx_process_answer: short reply (ups.load)
  14.555724     [D2] qx_process_answer: short reply (input.frequency)
  14.555801     [D2] qx_process_answer: short reply (battery.voltage)
  14.555880     [D2] qx_process_answer: short reply (ups.temperature)
  14.555955     [D2] qx_process_answer: short reply (ups.status)
  14.556023     Can't initialise data from the UPS
  14.556091     [D1] upsdrv_cleanup...

So it get some data about voltages , but not enought to start the driver :(

Please help

[jimklimov]

Hello, sorry to hear about that, perhaps your device is different from ones handled by the sub-driver (could be a case of "same ID, unrelated OEM").

FWIW, it was added in #1250 (see also #1238) so possibly @blaa could troubleshoot this better. Could there be some bug in the new code?..

The subdriver comments suggest looking at richcomm_usb, and its replies to at least Q1 give hope that it talks some variant of Megatec Qx protocols -- so my next suggestion would be to go "lock-picking" to try different subdrivers and protocols of nutdrv_qx.

[bdkacz]

But the same UPS working ok with this driver,when I connect it to Asus router with asus-merlin firmware and nut installed via entware-ng ;)

Problem is on orangepi with Armbian Bookworm :)

[jimklimov]

Ok, that is a very new piece of information, I believe :)

Can you check if they ship same or different NUT and driver versions? Looking at https://github.com/Entware/entware-ng-packages/blob/master/net/nut/Makefile I see it has 2.7.4 (so perhaps falls back to another subdriver/protocol?) and the repo is archived...

Also, if you built your own NUT - try just in case with the master branch. Some fixes did accumulate over the past year... maybe something there impacts this case too?

UPDATE from 2024: The "entware-ng-packages" repo is archived. There is a newer https://github.com/Entware/entware-packages/blob/master/net/nut/ (2.8.1 at the moment, almost up to date) with http://bin.entware.net/Readme.txt (from 2020) claiming:

Entware developers are happy to announce Entware-ng and Entware-3x merge. The new project is called Entware.
Entware will have all package repositories from Entware-3x (armv5, armv7, aarch64, mips, mipsel, x64) and
a repo for armv7 (Linux kernel 2.6.36) from Entware-ng. All other repositories will be available for installation but will not be
updated....

[bdkacz]

Ok on armbian I will try to compile via git clone :)

About version on asus - actually I re-flashed this router so I'm unable to check version of working NUT . I copy 1:1 config from asus to armbian and as on first post - it doesn't work.

So i will check with version via git clone, and if no efftects maybe I try build 2.7.4 on Armbian from sources

[jimklimov]

Well, can't recommend 2.7.4 nowadays - it is over 7 years old now. My guess would rather be that if the UPS worked with it, there could be a different subdriver/protocol involved -- and you could try its 2.8.0+ version instead of armac.

At least, for the "1:1 config" part, the 2.7.4 driver would have probably refused to start with a then-unknown config option, I hope. At worst it might have fallen back to auto-detection (as if no option - which is another thing you can try), but I think it should have errored out.

[bdkacz]

1:1 config I men copy driver name etc from old config, not copy 1:1 files :)

[blaa]

[D3] armac command Q1 response read: '(231.0 000.0 233.0 008 49.0 13.7 30.8 00001'

Seems like a correctly parsed message. (They get send in chunks of ~4 bytes in this protocol, so it means the proto mostly works fine).

The Armac subdriver did not parse the contents of this string though; only glued it together from USB and passed to already existing driver. That worked for my UPS/nut version.

Maybe something changed in Qx (?) driver that causes it to fail.

Anywho - I can try to replicate on my hardware and make some fix, but it might take me 2 weeks to get started. Drop me a note if you manage to get it running (and how. ;d) or if you need some assistance.

I'm unsure which version I have running, and I have a bit different UPS.

[bdkacz]

So, after reinstall nut via clone repository it works :)
With very simple config

[poddasze]
    driver = nutdrv_qx
    port   = auto

and get data:

# upsc poddasze
battery.charge: 100
battery.voltage: 13.70
battery.voltage.high: 13.00
battery.voltage.low: 10.40
battery.voltage.nominal: 12.0
device.type: ups
driver.debug: 0
driver.flag.allow_killpower: 0
driver.name: nutdrv_qx
driver.parameter.bus: 006
driver.parameter.pollfreq: 30
driver.parameter.pollinterval: 2
driver.parameter.port: auto
driver.parameter.product: UPS USB MON V1.4
driver.parameter.productid: 1234
driver.parameter.subdriver: armac
driver.parameter.synchronous: auto
driver.parameter.vendorid: 0925
driver.state: updateinfo
driver.version: 2.8.0-2232-g91396d05b
driver.version.data: Megatec 0.06
driver.version.internal: 0.33
driver.version.usb: libusb-1.0.26 (API: 0x1000109)
input.current.nominal: 3.0
input.frequency: 49.0
input.frequency.nominal: 50
input.voltage: 241.0
input.voltage.fault: 0.0
input.voltage.nominal: 220
output.voltage: 242.0
ups.beeper.status: enabled
ups.delay.shutdown: 30
ups.delay.start: 180
ups.firmware: V2.63
ups.load: 7
ups.productid: 1234
ups.status: OL
ups.temperature: 30.8
ups.type: offline / line interactive
ups.vendorid: 0925

[convicte]

Has there, by any chance, been progress on this?

I've purchased the 'new' Armac PF1 unit and tried getting it hooked up to UNRAID via NUT, but all three recommended drivers get me nowhere.

My lsusb output:
Bus 001 Device 076: ID 0925:1234 Lakeview Research STD UPS MON V2.0

On version 2023.07.24a for UNRAID I tried:

[ups]
    driver = nutdrv_qx
    port   = auto
    vendorid = "0925"
    productid = "1234"
    product = STD UPS MON V2.0

and I get:

Network UPS Tools - UPS driver controller 2.7.4.1
Network UPS Tools - Generic Q* USB/Serial driver 0.39 (2.7.4.1)
USB communication driver 0.43
No supported devices found. Please check your device availability with 'lsusb'
and make sure you have an up-to-date version of NUT. If this does not help,
try running the driver with at least 'subdriver', 'vendorid' and 'productid'
options specified. Please refer to the man page for details about these options
(man 8 nutdrv_qx).

Driver failed to start (exit status=1)

By trying to add subdrivers = armac , I get the not found error:

Network UPS Tools - UPS driver controller 2.7.4.1
Network UPS Tools - Generic Q* USB/Serial driver 0.39 (2.7.4.1)
USB communication driver 0.43
Subdriver 'armac' not found!
Driver failed to start (exit status=1)

It looks like it should have been added https://github.com/networkupstools/nut/blob/master/drivers/nutdrv_qx.c, but it obviously didn't or the Unraid version is not yet up to speed.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

[jimklimov]

@convicte : Hello again. What sort of "progress" here are you asking about? Driver is present, problem solved on NUT side. Poke the distro (unRaid) to package a newer NUT version.

Ok, part of the NUT-side problem may be that it was added after 2.8.0 so a release should be completed (trying to find time to look at some puzzling issues before that), but that distro ships an even older version.

Or am I missing something?

PS: your product value has spaces so should be in double quotes.

[convicte]

Thank you, so very much for the prompt reply. I am not sure, we've interacted before, but I ask for so much assistance here and there to get my strange creations working, there is a good chance we did.

1. I must admit, I am a bit confused by how things are currently maintained, but is seams @SimonFair is the gracious host of the latest UNRAID NUT releases, and is pushing out a lot of updates with pending PRs
   https://github.com/SimonFair/NUT-unRAID, regardless of the fact the original thread indeed points to a supper old NUT distro here https://forums.unraid.net/topic/60217-plugin-nut-v2-network-ups-tools/
   

I don't know honestly who is ahead of who, and thus I decided to start at the source. If you feel everything is in place for the vanilla NUT to have the armac driver working, I'll ask Simon then.
EDIT:
https://forums.unraid.net/topic/60217-plugin-nut-v2-network-ups-tools/?do=findComment&comment=1288069

2. A side note - is there any reason this UPS, even though an armac brand would indicate in the NUT 'autodetectfunction that it's arichcommdriver, which was the name of the company that wrotePower Manager II` that is a software shipped with many of these UPSs.
   
   Is this just a false classification or am I barking at the wrong tree and when release, this driver will not work for me either.
   BTW, when connected to this ancient software via a Win11 VM, I get the readings, so it's not dead, nor is the USB cable (from a 1997 printer) faulty, which I assumed to be the case.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

[blaa]

From your logs this looks like nut 2.7.4.1.
2.8.0 was released a year ago and is available for example in Debian Stable (known for pretty old packages).

Unraid should upgrade it's base version.