NUT upsd fails to start on boot-up when configured to use APCUPSD-Driver

[lmoorez]

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Describe the bug

Enabled and configuring APCUPSD plug-in and verified UPS status.

Configured NUT to operate in STANDALONE mode and to use the APCUPSD-Driver.

Verified NUT's UPS status - OK.

Reboot OPNsense.

NUT upsd fails to start during boot-up and upsmon is unable to monitor the UPS until manual intervening by restarting the NUT service.

To Reproduce

Steps to reproduce the behaviour:

1. Go to 'Services'
2. Click on 'Apcupsd'
3. Click on 'Settings'
4. Configure 'Apcupsd' accordingly
5. Click on 'Apply'
6. Go to 'Services'
7. Click on 'Apcupsd'
8. Click on 'Status' - verify expected status information.
9. Go to 'Services'
10. Click on 'Nut'
11. Click on 'Configuration'
12. Click on 'UPS Type' tab
13. Select 'APCUPSD-Driver'
14. Click on 'Enable'
15. Ensure Hostname is set to 'localhost'
16. Click on 'Apply'
17. Click on 'General Settings' tab
18. Click on 'Enable nut'
19. Click on 'Service Mode' and select 'standalone'
20. Click in 'Name' field and enter a name
21. Click on 'Apply'
22. Go to 'Services'
23. Click on 'Nut'
24. Click on 'Diagnostics' - verify UPS information is presented
25. Reboot OPNsense
26. Observe NUT upsdrvctl throw error advising it cant communicate with apcupds.
27. Observe apcpupsd starting after nut_upsmon has started

Expected behavior

When NUT upsdrvctl starts during boot-up, it should be able to communicate with apcupsd.

Describe alternatives you considered

None.

Screenshots

If applicable, add screenshots to help explain your problem.

Relevant log files

<13>1 2026-04-08T23:21:26+08:00 vpn-gw.internal root 36907 - [meta sequenceId="369"] /usr/local/etc/rc.d/nut: WARNING: failed precmd routine for nut
<13>1 2026-04-08T23:21:26+08:00 vpn-gw.internal kernel - - [meta sequenceId="370"] <118>[54] Network UPS Tools upsdrvctl - UPS driver controller 2.8.3 release
<13>1 2026-04-08T23:21:26+08:00 vpn-gw.internal kernel - - [meta sequenceId="371"] <118>[54] Network UPS Tools 2.8.3 release - apcupsd network client UPS driver 0.73
<13>1 2026-04-08T23:21:26+08:00 vpn-gw.internal kernel - - [meta sequenceId="372"] <118>[54] can't communicate with apcupsd!
<13>1 2026-04-08T23:21:26+08:00 vpn-gw.internal kernel - - [meta sequenceId="373"] <118>[54] Driver failed to start (exit status=1)
<13>1 2026-04-08T23:21:26+08:00 vpn-gw.internal kernel - - [meta sequenceId="374"] <118>[54] /usr/local/etc/rc.d/nut: WARNING: failed precmd routine for nut
<13>1 2026-04-08T23:21:26+08:00 vpn-gw.internal kernel - - [meta sequenceId="375"] <118>[54] osrelayd is not running.
<13>1 2026-04-08T23:21:26+08:00 vpn-gw.internal kernel - - [meta sequenceId="376"] <118>[54] Starting osrelayd.
<27>1 2026-04-08T23:21:26+08:00 vpn-gw.internal upsmon 64364 - [meta sequenceId="377"] UPS [SUA1000I]: connect failed: Connection failure: Connection refused
<29>1 2026-04-08T23:21:26+08:00 vpn-gw.internal upsmon 64364 - [meta sequenceId="378"] Communications with UPS SUA1000I lost
<13>1 2026-04-08T23:21:26+08:00 vpn-gw.internal kernel - - [meta sequenceId="379"] <118>[54] Starting nut_upsmon.
<13>1 2026-04-08T23:21:26+08:00 vpn-gw.internal kernel - - [meta sequenceId="380"] <118>[54] Network UPS Tools upsmon 2.8.3 release
<13>1 2026-04-08T23:21:26+08:00 vpn-gw.internal kernel - - [meta sequenceId="381"] <118>[54] UPS: SUA1000I (primary) (power value 1)
<13>1 2026-04-08T23:21:26+08:00 vpn-gw.internal kernel - - [meta sequenceId="382"] <118>[54] Using power down flag file /etc/killpower
<13>1 2026-04-08T23:21:26+08:00 vpn-gw.internal kernel - - [meta sequenceId="383"] <118>[54] Starting flowd_aggregate.
<13>1 2026-04-08T23:21:27+08:00 vpn-gw.internal kernel - - [meta sequenceId="384"] <118>[55] Starting apcupsd.
<13>1 2026-04-08T23:21:27+08:00 vpn-gw.internal flowd_aggregate.py 71494 - [meta sequenceId="385"] startup, check database.
<29>1 2026-04-08T23:21:27+08:00 vpn-gw.internal ftp-proxy 22383 - [meta sequenceId="386"] listening on 127.0.0.1 port 4559

Additional context

Please re-order service start-up so apcupsd is started and running prior to NUT.

Environment

Software version used and hardware type if relevant, e.g.:

OPNsense 26.1.5 (amd64).
Intel® Core(TM) i7-7700 CPU @ 3.60GHz (3600.00-MHz K8-class CPU)
Network Intel® I350

[Codex-v]

Solution: Fix NUT Service Startup Order

Root Cause

NUT (Network UPS Tools) is starting before APCUPSD during boot, causing it to fail because it cannot communicate with the APCUPSD service that hasn't started yet.

The issue is that the NUT rc.d script is missing the proper REQUIRE dependency declaration that FreeBSD uses to determine service startup order.

Fix Required

Add dependency declaration to the NUT rc.d script:

File: /usr/local/etc/rc.d/nut

Change the header from:
```sh
#!/bin/sh

PROVIDE: nut

KEYWORD: shutdown

```

To:
```sh
#!/bin/sh

PROVIDE: nut

REQUIRE: apcupsd

BEFORE: local

KEYWORD: shutdown

```

How It Works

• REQUIRE: apcupsd → tells rcorder that NUT depends on APCUPSD
• BEFORE: local → ensures NUT starts before local services that might need it
• FreeBSD's boot process will now correctly start APCUPSD first, then NUT

Impact

After this fix:

1. APCUPSD will fully initialize before NUT attempts to start
2. NUT will successfully connect to APCUPSD on boot
3. No manual service restart needed after reboot

Testing

• Configure both APCUPSD and NUT services
• Reboot the system
• Both services should start without errors
• Check logs: `grep -i "nut|apcupsd" /var/log/messages`

This fix should be applied to the nut FreeBSD port or OPNsense's service management system.