[Herts] UPS anyone?

[Malcolm Smith]

On Thu, Jun 12, 2008 at 08:47:08PM +0100, Mike Roberts wrote:
> Free UPSes for anyone...
>
> Malcolm Smith said:
> > With blackouts like I get up here in the wilds of Bedfordshire, I need
> > a UPS to prevent data loss whenever the farm goes dark for no apparent
> >

Obligatory /. quote:

  "Imagine a beowulf cluster of those..."

Hmmm, what happens if you plug 4 UPSes in series into each other...?
First one holds up the power for ten minutes, then the second takes
over, etc... ( perhaps ;-)

   Scotty: Aye Captain, we're down to the last power unit!!!
   Kirk:   Ah. :-( In that case, we're doomed!
   Spock:  But Sir, if we can just invert the palindrometer reading and
           reverse the polarity to the flux capacitors, we might cause
           a large enough spark to produce a spontaneous fusion chain
           reaction, thus igniting the dilithium crystals momentarily
           to provide enough forward thrust to escape this plasma cloud.

Come on everyone, someone else pitch in and take one off Mike's hands
too, or I might just get to try this out. (*...KABOOM...*)


> > > For more info check here:-
> > > 
> > > http://www.chloridepower.com/en-gb/UK/Products--Solutions/Technologies/Desk-Power/Overview/
> > 
> > That would be just about right for my (beige) office workstation.
> > I'll look into how supported they are under Linux. The software
> > mentioned on their web pages links to 404 pages.
> 
> I had a look for more info on linux support as I have some larger 19" 
> rack mount chloride models here for myself.
> 
> I found these links:-
> 
> http://www.linux.com/feature/128099
> 
> which mentions this site
> 
> http://www.networkupstools.org/
> 
> which looks most promising but doesn't list chloride devices in the 
> supported list.
> 
> Then
> 
> http://connectivity.chloridepower.com/download_viewCategory.asp?c=1
> 
> and
> 
> http://www.chloridepower.com/en-gb/UK/Products--
> Solutions/Connectivity/Software-for-UPS-monitoring-and-computer-
> shutdown/
> 
> The trouble is the chloride software is available for linux but has 
> to be bought. I did find some stuff on RS232 interfaces but I havent 
> had a chance to look at it yet. The NUT site does suggest that it 
> might be possible to use generic drivers for some unlisted models of 
> UPS.

The only software I pay for is source code, so I'll try the NUTs.
If that doesn't work, at least I can just use the UPS as a safety
buffer while I manually shutdown whenever the power goes out.


Cheers
-- 
Malcolm
http://www.thesmith.org.uk/     Personal site of unfathomable depths
http://www.secretbass.org.uk/   Drum circle in deepest Hertfordshire
http://www.drummingisfun.co.uk/ African drumming workshops+performances