Robert -- Thanks for the advice ... the computer is a musical instrument (known as Muse Receptor) -- there are not set up to do RAID arrays and the like ... I am just looking to protect in concert settings with bad power ... and to find out what else I need to do to take care of it ... I don't think I can have dual disk drives setup where one takes over if the other one fails -- but I can look into that ... I think if people want to have a backup they just have a second Linux box -- but for me that is too expensive .. All that said I did order a Cyberpower CP1500PFCLCD UPS 1500VA 900W PFC Compatible Pure Sine Wave does anyone have experience with this particular UPS ? thx, Dan On Thu, Aug 25, 2011 at 3:01 PM, Robert Heller <heller at deepsoft.com> wrote: > At Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:05:32 -0400 Daniel Belmont <dbelmont2 at gmail.com> > wrote: > > > > > MIME-Version: 1.0 > > > > ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's > area. > > ** If you did, we all thank you. > > > > > > > > > > > > I have a special purpose Linux machine that is used to run musical > > instruments and is > > used frequently in concert settings ... so preventing failure is of > > importance ... I am > > looking for advice on two things : > > > > 1) I need a UPS that produces pure sine waves, has reliable battery > backup > > that will > > instantly kick in during voltage dips, isn't too heavy (or wildly > > expensive), rack > > mountable would be nice (but I can deal with something that is around 25 > > pounds > > even if it is not rack mountable), and does voltage regulation ... > someone > > suggested > > that there are UPS's that always provide power from the constantly > > recharging > > battery -- that could be interesting ... > > > > The reason I am asking for something with these specific qualities is > that I > > had a > > power outage at a concert this past weekend -- the LInux box was plugged > > into a > > UPS that puts out simulated sine waves (and the power supply on the Linux > > machine > > does active power factor correction which needs pure sine waves), there > was > > a voltage > > dip, the UPS battery kicked in and the Linux box shut down as if it lost > > power due to the > > sine wave mismatch ... apparently this kind of thing can destroy the hard > > drive (which > > would be a big problem) as well as causing problems for Linux startup > (this > > did happen > > but that problem seemed to correct itself within a few minutes) ... > > > > 2) what kind of care do I need to provide to the Linux box so that it > works > > like > > a mission critical computer ? the right kind of UPS seems important, > backing > > > > up the hard drive is a given (I am doing this now) ... are there other > > things I need > > to do to treat this computer well ? again, since it is a musical > instrument > > I am > > very desirous of eliminating all of the possible causes of failure (to > the > > extent that > > I can) ... > > Does the machine have a RAID array set up? Linux's kernel includes a > quite good software RAID implementation. All you need are two same size > disk drives... A RAID1 (mirroring) array will let you keep going if one > drive fails. And if you have a spare on hand, you can swap it in during > a break and it can rebuild the array as the concert continues... > > Some server systems have hot-swap power supplies, but that might be > overkill... > > Reasonably good shock mounting in your carry case and/or hard drives is > another thing to look at. > > It is possible to get something called a ruggedized 'lunchbox' system. > This is something between a laptop and a desktop. It would have a > desktop motherboard with the usual PCI bus, etc. and mounting for usual > desktop drives (multiple hard drives, *-ROM drive, etc.), but would > have a smaller keyboard and a stowable *small* flat-panel display the > whole thing packs up to about lunchbox sized with a ruggedized case, > that might include shock mounting for the hard drives. These machines > are meant for use in tough / harsh environments and meant to withstand > a certain amount of abuse ('tossed' into a plane or boat cargo hold, > bounced in the back of a truck bouncing down a rough dirt road, etc.). > I guess you already have a machine, but someday you might want/need to > replace or upgrade it... > > > > > Thanks ! > > > > Dan Belmont > > The Soul Sensations > > www.TheSoulSensations.com > > > > MIME-Version: 1.0 > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net > > Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net > > > > You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion > list. > > If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the Members > > page on the Hidden Tech Web site. > > http://www.hidden-tech.net/members > > > > > > -- > Robert Heller -- 978-544-6933 / heller at deepsoft.com > Deepwoods Software -- http://www.deepsoft.com/ > () ascii ribbon campaign -- against html e-mail > /\ www.asciiribbon.org -- against proprietary attachments > > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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