Exploring the Aviosys IP Power 9850 CGI interface using Powershell

The IP Power 9850 is a networked power switch manufactured by Aviosys. The IP Power 9850 is able to control up to four UK 3 pin sockets or EU type sockets. The unit sports a web based interface giving fine control over the power sockets or you can automate the process using the CGI based interface with your own scripts or automation software.

Powershell is a portable scripting language created by Microsoft that runs on Microsoft Windows and various other operating systems like macOS and Linux. Powershell is particularly useful when trying to automate repetitive tasks like re-starting a router when connectivity to the internet is lost.

For the purposes of this article I will be using a IP Power 9850UK as well as Powershell version 5.1 installed on Windows 10.

Getting the firmware version

You can read the firmware version number from your IP Power 9850 with the following Powershell command:

Invoke-WebRequest is quite a useful Powershell cmdlet because it is able to make HTTP requests to web services and return to you the result.

Firmware version data

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
                    Pragma: no-cache
                    Content-Length: 65
                    Content-Type: text/plain
                    Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2018 21:03:18 GMT
                    Server: lighttpd/1.4.48

                    

                    <!--CGI-D...

{[Pragma, no-cache], [Content-Length, 65], [Content-Type, text/plain], [Date, Fri, 28 Sep 2018
                    21:03:18 GMT]...}

Reading the current socket state

You can read the current state of the power sockets from your IP Power 9850 with the following Powershell command:

Power socket data

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
                    Pragma: no-cache
                    Content-Length: 74
                    Content-Type: text/plain
                    Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2018 23:04:12 GMT
                    Server: lighttpd/1.4.48

                    

                    <!--CGI-D...

{[Pragma, no-cache], [Content-Length, 74], [Content-Type, text/plain], [Date, Fri, 28 Sep 2018
                    23:04:12 GMT]...}

Powering a socket 

You can switch on one of the power sockets using the following command:

The power sockets are represented by the number 61 through to 64. Setting the socket to 0 switches it off and setting the socket to 1 switches it on. You don't need to include all of the sockets if you are not changing their state. Just include the sockets you wish to change or you can include all of them, just make sure to set the socket into the correct state.

Power socket data

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
                    Pragma: no-cache
                    Content-Length: 71
                    Content-Type: text/plain
                    Date: Mon, 01 Oct 2018 20:52:29 GMT
                    Server: lighttpd/1.4.48

                    

                    <!-...

                    <!--CGI-D...

{[Pragma, no-cache], [Content-Length, 65], [Content-Type, text/plain], [Date, Fri, 28 Sep 2018
                    21:03:18 GMT]...}