UPS Scripts/Procedure : Shutdown a Linux server from Windows.

When running APC PowerChute on a windows server and executing a command script on some events like we saw previously, it can be necessary to shudown a linux server too.

1. On your Windows server running PowerChute, create a folder (eg. C:\ShutdownScripts) and copy in it plink and puttygen that you can download here
   
   Puttygen will create ssh keys, and plink will execute a command on a remote machine using an ssh connection.
   
   
2. Run puttygen and create a pair of ssh keys (public/private) using SSH-2 DSA / 1024 in the same folder. You will generate two files, sshkey.pub and sshkey.ppk.
   
   
3. Create a batch file locally (shutdownLinuxServers.bat) and add commands like :
   cd C:\ShutdownScripts
   @plink -T powerchute@mylinuxserver1 -i sshkey.ppk sudo /sbin/shutdown -h -P now
   @plink -T powerchute@mylinuxserver2 -i sshkey.ppk sudo /sbin/shutdown -h -P now
   ....
   
   This will ssh to your linux servers with the powerchute account to halt and shut them down .
   
   
4. On the linux server(s) side, you will need to create a user account able to shutdown the server.
   
   
5. Create the powerchute account :
   useradd -m -d /home/powerchute -g users -s /bin/bash powerchute
   
   
6. In the home folder of the user powerchute (/home/powerchute), create a subfolder .ssh (rights 700), and add it a blank file called authorized_keys (touch authorized_keys) (rights 644)
   
   
7. Copy the content of your sshkey.pub in the file authorized_keys
   
   
8. Append this command at the end of authorized_key, after the public key :
   from=myWindowsServer,command=sudo /sbin/shutdown -h -P now ssh-dss
   Where myWindowsServer is the DNS name or IP of your server running APC PowerChute.
   
   Your file authorized_key should look like this :
   ssh-dss AAAB3NzaC1kc3MAAACBAOEIj5Hm0ByaNObfUPhpboS0fONW9WqATYXjGi/wlmJipxBNo+//WooNdfeMN9bCqlbT7Z0eXfL+r4Xdmqp........svjduAB2mbQ== dsa-key-20091009 from=192.168.192.50,command=sudo /sbin/shutdown -h -P now ssh-dss
   
   
9. Edit the sudoers file :
   > visudo
   
   
10. Search for this block and comment the last line :
    # Defaults specification
    #
    # Disable "ssh hostname sudo ", because it will show the password in clear.
    # You have to run "ssh -t hostname sudo ".
    #
    # Defaults requiretty <-- commented
    
    
11. Search for this block and add the last line :
    # User privilege specification
    root ALL=(ALL) ALL
    powerchute ALL = NOPASSWD: /sbin/shutdown
    
    
12. On your Windows server, add C:\ShutdownScripts\shutdownLinuxServers.bat to your APC PowerChute script (C:\Program Files\APC\PowerChute Business Edition\agent\cmdfiles\default.cmd)