Whack-On-Lan

[Tom Metro]

Rajiv Aaron Manglani wrote:
> all of our servers are on IP-addressable PDUs (power distribution units). 
> basically power strips with built in web servers and snmp. each outlet can 
> be switched on and off remotely.

PDUs are the better, more flexible option, but I've wondered why the 
standard PC hardware doesn't include a watchdog timer. This is something 
that is almost standard equipment on embedded products, and causes an 
automatic reset of the machine whenever the CPU goes astray and fails to 
reset the timer.

I've occasionally seen watchdog timers available as add-on boards, and I 
suspect some of the "lights out" boards incorporate them, but either of 
those add as much or more cost than a PDU. A watchdog could be added to 
one of the standard PC VLSI chips for essentially no cost. Even a lowly 
Linksys WRT54G has one built-in.

  -Tom

-- 
Tom Metro
Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA
"Enterprise solutions through open source."
Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/