In this blog, we’ll try to give you more information on how Managed Service Providers (MSPs), Integrators and IT professionals can save their clients’ money and time by working more efficiently. We’ll also explain more about the power of the PDU and how Domotz helps users to be more efficient with them.
Did you know that you can power cycle your devices directly in Domotz?
Do you know how to do it and why this is beneficial for you?
The answers to these questions and more in 4 easy steps to power cycling directly in Domotz.
Remote power cycle basis with Domotz
Typically, when something with your network devices goes wrong, the first thing you do is to call your service provider and ask for a remote reset of this device.
Do you know how much effort can be saved by rebooting a device in the right way using Domotz? In some cases hours.
IT admins can perform secure remote power up, down and power cycling for all the devices they manage in a more efficient way with the remote power management features Domotz has developed.
Users can remotely power cycle devices with Domotz in three cases:
- If the device allows being software rebooted
- If the device is connected to a Power Distribution Unit (PDU)
- If the device is connected to a switch with a Power over Ethernet (PoE) port
Users can remotely power cycle devices with Domotz in three ways:
- A toggle
to switch on and off a device - A power cycle button to reboot a device
- A software reboot button to reboot a device
More information about the device list elements in our help article about Automated Discovery and Inventory.
Let’s dive in the deep…
1) How to associate network devices to a PDU outlet and why
Here we would like to explain why PDUs are very valuable network controllable units. In addition, you’ll learn why when you have a PDU, linking the discovered devices through the correct outlet is important.
How does it work in Domotz?
Domotz offers support for Power Distribution Units (PDUs) and IP-controlled power outlets (smart plugs).
Step 1: When one of these devices is discovered and recognized as supported by Domotz, a new tab Outlets is automatically created in the Device Details screen tab, with an entry for each port of the device, like in the example below:
Step 2: A very important step to do is to press the + button under the plug and find the device you would like to connect to your PDU.
Step 3: In the example you see below we have connected a device called PowerPDU-53 to Power output 1 of the PowerCable PDU:
Learn more on PDUs and how to connect a device to the plug with Domotz in our help article about power management.
Why associating a device to a PDU in this way is so useful?
When a user has an issue with a particular device and this device has to be rebooted, this user has two options:
Option 1: When the PDU is linked to that particular device as explained above:
- To find the device in the Domotz system
- To power cycle it
Option 2: If the PDU is not linked properly to the device:
- To search to which PDU has it
- To find out which outlet is on
- To power cycle it
See the difference? It’s about speed and efficiency.
In other words, if the user has connected his device correctly in the Domotz and this user has a problem with that device, he should just find it and power cycle it:
Example: If you have multiple Apple TVs that have failed, you should be able to find every specific Apple TV and power cycle it, rather than searching across all of them.
Find here the full list of the supported PDU and Smart Plugs.
2) How to associate a dummy device to a PDU outlet and why
What is a dummy device in Domotz?
A dummy device is a non-network connected device. It’s a device without an IP address. In other words, it’s a placeholder or a fake device that the users can create if needed.
What’s the purpose of a dummy device?
This feature allows connecting a non-IP-connected device to a PDU or smart outlet to enable easy power management.
To clarify, the dummy device is a way for you to document and control non-network connected devices within Domotz.
How to associate a dummy device to a PDU outlet?
Example: Let’s say there is a projector in the Conference room of the company which is not working. This projector has to be power cycled but the user is not in the office.
Given the fact that this is a non-network-connected device and it doesn’t have an IP address, Domotz would never discover that device because there is no network connection for it.
However, there is something that Domotz can do. If the user has created a dummy device and has connected it to the PDU, Domotz will help you power cycle this projector remotely.
Let’s see how…
Step 1: Create a dummy device
Open “Device List” > “Manage Devices and Subnets” > “Add Dummy Devices” and add the name, type, location, and zone of your dummy device:
Learn more on how to create a dummy device from our Help Center.
Step 2: Connect the dummy device to your PDU
- Open your “Device list” to find your PDU
- Click on the tab Outlets and press on the + button
- Look for the dummy device you have just created to link it to your PDU
- Your non-network dummy device is connected to your PDU and now you are able to power cycle it remotely:
What’s the benefit?
When the user has to remotely power cycle that projector from the example above, he’ll just need to open his Device list, find the projector, and power cycle it right from the device.
3) How to automatically associate network devices to PoE switches
The number of devices powered by Power over Ethernet (PoE) is continuously increasing. IP cameras and Wi-Fi access points are the most common devices, but many others connect to networks every day. When these devices need to be power cycled remotely, Domotz can be the easiest option for you to do it.
Domotz had implemented advanced support and integration for all the most popular Managed Network and PoE switches by automatically associating network devices to PoE switches.
This functionality is available in the following cases:
- If SNMP is enabled and the user has the default SNMP credentials “public” and “private”
- In case the user has created his own credentials or uses SNMP v3, the user has to configure the SNMP Authentication from the Access Manager as shown below:
To clarify, automated switch port mapping is available for all the managed network switches compliant with the RFC4188 standard.
Learn more about Managed Switches and PoE in our Help Center.
4) How to put multiple devices on a single power strip to a PDU port and why
Domotz also offers the possibility for the user to connect multiple devices to a single power strip to a PDU port creating the link between the outlets and multiple devices.
Example: Let’s say the user has 8 outlets on his PDU but he has 10 devices. Let’s say he also has 2 projectors connected to the same outlet. What can he do to be able to power cycle those projectors?
How does it work?
Step 1: Connect the “Theater Projector” to the PDU
Step 2: Connect the other projector, in this case, “Optoma HD20”, to the same outlet:
In this way the user creates a link between the outlet and multiple devices by connecting 2 devices, both plugged in the same outlet, in this case, “Power output 1”:
Note that you would be able to do that only if you have connected a powerstrip to the same socket.
Why is this beneficial for you?
When the user would like to power cycle one of those projectors, he has to find them and power cycle them.
The user has to be aware that he would switch off or reboot both devices using the toggle or the reboot button.
In this tutorial, you’ve learned how to power cycle directly in Domotz in different ways and why this is beneficial for you. We also went through the benefits of associating network devices or dummy devices to a PDU outlet. In addition, we have described how to put multiple devices on a single power strip and why this makes your life easier.
Get started now with Domotz with 21-Days free trial!
Further reading:
- Extra Team Members Now FREE on Domotz
- How to create Power BI API custom network reports and analytics with Domotz
- What is SNMP port and how does it work?
- New Client Onboarding Checklist for MSPs
- MSP Business Plan – 6 things to have in your MSP Business Plan
