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AP84XX, AP88XX, AP89XX, and AP86XX 2G Rack PDU LCD Backlight Behavior

Issue

When should my Rack PDU 2G LCD remain on and when should it turn off? I have different units displaying different behavior.

Product Line

Rack Power Distribution
- AP8XXX SKUs

Environment

Certain firmware versions as noted below
All serial numbers

Cause

With firmware versions earlier than v5.1.2, the available backlight configuration options are "On" (default), or "Off". The LCD backlight on the PDU will be illuminated blue all of the time, by default.

A firmware change has been introduced with rpdu2g firmware v5.1.2 and higher. The update has been provided to maximize the life-span of the rack LCD display and to save energy by automatically turning off the backlight when not in use. At product startup, the LCD backlight will remain on for 10 minutes. The backlight will remain on as long as the buttons on the display are pushed. Then, 10 minutes after the last button is pushed, the backlight will turn off. The available configuration choices you will find for this in the config.ini are "Auto-On" (default), or "Off".

Beginning with firmware version rpdu2g v6.0.9 and higher, the user can also completely disable the LCD backlight and button functionality via the config.ini value DISPLAY_ENABLE. This can be set to Enabled or Disabled for standalone PDUs or each PDU in a Network Port Sharing group.

Note: AP84XX series Metering by Outlet Rack PDUs require v6.1.0 rpdug app and higher and are being released in September, 2014. They cannot be downgraded.

Resolution

If you are unsure of your firmware version, you can access the network management card to find out. If it has been previously configured, you can find the IP address listed on the front display of the PDU under Main Menu->Software Info->IP address. (If your display is disabled as noted above, this will not work).

Within the network management card web interface (blue and white), please check under Administration->General->About and note your AOS and rpdu2g APP versions. In the green and white interface, navigate to About->RPDU.

Within the network management card command line interface, you login and issue the about command to find your AOS and rpdu2g APP versions.