[tech] New Mermaid

[Harry McNally]

Hi Bob

On 03/03/11 22:52, Bob Adamson wrote:
> Hi techies,
> 
> I've been thinking about a replacement box for mermaid, and now seems like 
> a good time to do the job properly while the box isn't being used for 
> anything.
> 
> Dispense is currently running on heathred, the vendserver is running on 
> martello, the door lock is controlled by a service running on mussel, with 
> a decserver, a man-eating power supply and a modem in amongst all that. 
> It's all very hot, very power hungry, and not all that reliable. What I 
> hope to do is put all these services on one reliable machine with a ups. 
> It will also require a little electronics later on for the door stuff. 
> This will hopefully mean that the services are more likely to stay up in 
> emergencies (fuse trips, power dips, hail storms in the clubroom, 
> armageddon, freshers in the machine room) and also be easier to 
> understand, manage and update.
>
> The replacement box should run on as little power as possible, have at 
> least 3 serial ports (preferably more), have static cooling (ie no fans), 
> preferably mini or microATX so we can stick it somewhere out of the way.
> 
> At the moment, I'm keen on getting something in the $800 range from 
> advantech, such as 
> http://buy.advantech.net.au/ARK-3360L-3S51/ARK-3360L-3S51/system-3545.htm 
>
> If you have a better suggestion, or can be bothered trawling sites to 
> custom build a box, I'd love to hear from you!

Lashing together arcane solutions is the UCC way but I think you're approach
is better for those services Bob. The box looks fine. Would a power efficient
door lock also run from the UPS so access is possible without power ?

> Bob Adamson 
> UCC Treasurer
> 
> |"Bureaucracy is a challenge to the be conquered with a righteous        |
> |attitude, an intolerance for stupidity, and a bulldozer when necessary" |
> | ---Peter's Laws                                                        |
> 
>