Smart Skills: Configuring an Auto Reboot of a WattBox Power Outlet

Video transcript:

Imagine a medication so powerful and so smart that it could heal you—even before you are aware you are sick.

Ok, now that might seem a little unbelievable, at least in terms of healing the human body, but it’s totally possible when it comes to networks and IP-controlled WattBox devices.

WattBox-managed power devices, controlled through the OvrC platform, can be configured to periodically ping a website. If the ping fails, the WattBox automatically reboots the outlet that powers the modem or router, which, in most cases, will heal the network’s connection to the internet—often before the customer is even aware there is a problem.

There are three steps to configuring an auto-reboot of a WattBox power outlet:

First, enable auto-reboot and configure the host settings

Second, configure the outlet reboot settings

Third, configure the time-out settings

The first step is to enable auto-reboot and configure the host settings.

In your browser, navigate to OvRC.com and log in.

Click the customer’s site in the list.

Click Devices and then click the WattBox in the list.

Click Configure and then click Outlet Options.

Verify that the outlets have been named for the devices that are plugged into them.

One important note: Make sure the outlets that power your network devices are set to Network Device (Reset Only) in the Outlet Mode list. This ensures the network devices will completely power-cycle instead of just turning off. When an outlet turns off that powers an important network device, like the modem or router, you will lose the ability to power it back on again through OvrC, and it will cause you a truck roll to fix it.

If you make changes to any of the Outlet Options, click Submit.

Next, turn the Auto-Reboot selection switch to On.

Now click Host Settings. You can designate the URLs that OvrC will ping to verify the network is functioning; a few examples are provided for you. To add one, click Add New Host. Name the host, type the network address, and select the desired transmission protocol from the list. You can also test each network address to make sure the ping is working.

When you are finished, click Save.

The second step is to configure outlet reboot settings.

Click Outlet Reboot Settings.

In the list, click the power outlet you wish to reset if the Auto Reboot detects a problem.

Next, select what combination of host time outs will trigger the reboot—all of them, or only certain hosts.

Click Save.

The final step is to configure time-out settings.

The Auto Reboot is a powerful feature; however, it’s easy for the feature to get caught in a power-cycling loop.

To prevent such a loop, click Time Out Settings.

The Time-out Interval is how long OvrC will wait for a response from one of your designated hosts. Type the desired number of seconds, remembering to not set it to be too sensitive; you don’t want insignificant network disruptions to trigger an Auto Reboot.

The Number of Time-outs Before Auto Reboot designates the number of failed pings the system must detect in a row before an Auto Reboot occurs; again, don’t set this to be too sensitive.

The Time Interval After Auto Reboot sets a time where pings are suspended to give the network a chance to heal and come back online. Again, allow a reasonable length of time. For example, a router’s firmware update could take up to ten minutes to complete, and it would be very easy to cause a power cycling loop if this is set to less than that.

Finally, set the Reboot Attempts number—the number of times the system will reboot if no network connection is detected. This setting is important to keep your network devices from being stuck in a reboot cycle when there’s been a serious problem on the network.

Click Save.

Now the Auto Reboot feature is successfully configured.

Nice job! You’ve configured the WattBox with the power to heal the network—before your customer would even be aware that it is sick.