Presidential Ramblings

 

Issue 1.4

September 2003

 

We need to be reminded (or shown) just how far Linux has come as a viable alternative for every day desktop computing. Bill Keene did a great job at the August general meeting, packing us full of information on what can be done when running Linux on your home or office computer. DACS will have more programs on Linux next year, as Microsoft continues to raise the price of Windows and generally shoots themselves in the foot. The desktop market is Microsoft's to lose (a Federal District Court said so) but Linux will be there -- no matter what SCO says -- as Microsoft stubs it's toe over and over again.

Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?

What do you think caused the Great Blackout (GBO) of 2003? As the extent of the failure became evident, my first thought was terrorism -- either physical or cyber. But as I thought about it (not much else to do), I had to agree with the voices on the radio that rather than terrorism, the more likely cause was simple stupidity (well, I may be the first pundit to actually call it stupidity). I was in East Lansing, Michigan, in 1965 when the first GBO that I remember blackened the Right Coast from Maine to Maryland and inland to Michigan. By 1977 I called Connecticut home but I can't recall if Connecticut actually lost power in that event. While the talking heads on TV refer to that event as another GBO, I think it was more limited to New York City and environs. I asked my son about this and he couldn't recall either, but said the blackout he remembers was caused by the blizzard of '78.
The moment the power went off, were you working at your computer? Did you lose your work? Any computer that I rely on is protected by an UPS (uninterruptible power supply). You should have one or two, too. These rather optimistically named devices are a combination of a fairly hefty storage battery and electronics to convert the battery's 12 or 24 volt direct current (DC) into the 115 volt AC normally found in the wall outlet. You plug the UPS into the wall and then plug your computer and monitor into the UPS. Normally the UPS just sits there quietly keeping the battery charged waiting for the power to fail. When that happens, the UPS cuts in and powers the computer and monitor. Of course, an UPS will keep your computer running for only a short time, but mine normally manage to bridge the servers over most of those annoying power outages that last less than a minute but leave all the clocks in the house blinking 12:00. Another function of the UPS is to signal the computer that it should shut itself down gracefully. This is really important for a server that is generally running unattended. My power went off at 16:10:56 and the UPS started the shutdown two minutes later. The servers came back up at 21:23:52, about fifteen minutes after power was restored. This is from the UPS data logs.

Now here is the real reason I have three UPSes in the house -- in addition to their "uninterruptible" feature, they are the best "surge protectors" money can buy. Those outlet strips you buy at the hardware store are worthless if lightning strikes the telephone pole down the street from your house. And even if it does manage to protect your computer or television from a voltage spike, it's only good for one or two spikes. After that, your "surge strip" has zero protection for the next spike that comes down the wire. Then there is the problem of over current; normal surge strips have no protections from excess current (amperes) flowing down the wire. The circuitry in an UPS is heavy coils, capacitors and rectifiers built to withstand multiple spikes, choke off excess current, and keep on working. Generally, the manufacturer is so sure of the design of their device that they offer insurance to replace your equipment if damaged while protected by their UPS. The big gotcha here is that all paths to your equipment must be protected by the same manufacturer's devices or they will just point fingers. This means the modem telephone wire and network cable must be protected as well as the AC power line.

Lots of people I know say that they do what CL&P suggests -- they unplug their electronic equipment during a storm. Sure, you can unplug your computer during a storm, if you're home! And that proactive does nothing to save your work when the lights go out. If the power companies would just give us a little warning when they're about to black out 60 million people, we could all stop what we're doing, save our Word documents and shut down the computer -- before the power dies!

Back in the August, 2001, issue of dacs.doc, I wrote about my experience with lightning zapping both the cable modem and the router. Now I have a device from American Power Conversion Corp. (APC spoke at the DACS general meeting in December, 1997) that sits between the cable modem and the router with a nice fat wire going to ground on the UPS frame. Unfortunately, there are no devices approved by Charter Communications to protect the cable modem itself from a surge coming in on the coax. Normal TV antenna "lightning arrestors" will kill the frequencies used by the cable modem and thus cannot be used. Remind Charter about this if they grumble when you ask them to replace your blown cable modem after a lightning storm.

Help me Learn about Windows Server 2003

As noted last month in dacs.doc, I'm planning a "quickie" SIG to learn about installing Windows Server 2003 -- the replacement for Windows 2000 Server. The SIG will probably meet four times over six weeks. During one of these meetings we will actually upgrade the Resource Center server from Windows 2000 to Server 2003. The goal is to build as secure a server as possible, to handle dacs.org email, provide for future expansion of the DACS web site and provide a resource for the various SIGs that meet in the Resource Center.

Now, please note that the headline for this section starts with "Help." I am not an expert on this topic and will be learning along with everyone else. The book we will use is Mark Minasi's Mastering Windows Server 2003. Anyone who is serious about learning from this group should buy the book.

The Meeting After the Meeting

After the general meeting each month, a group of us goes to a restaurant for a snack, some liquid, and a lot of fun conversation. Unfortunately, this has come to be known as the "Pig SIG" -- a name that is justified to some extent. Join us -- this month we will offer a toast to the continued flow of electrons!


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