On small sites, we have servers (linux rh 8, 9, or fc 4) acting as
internet routers, with a lan on one nic and an ethernet dsl modem on another nic. Sometimes the internet connection is lost and there no way to get it back but to reset the modem (even rebooting the server doesn't make it, it's really a modem frozen problem) Instead of paying somebody to drive there and pull the AC plug from the socket then push it in again, I decided to find some Remote Power Control device which could allow the server to do that by itself when it decides the modem is frozen. I found some sort of such devices on the net :
- iBoot : http://www.connectworld.net/data_center/remote_reboot.HTM
- Sentry :
http://www.servertech.com/products/RemotePowerManagement/SentryIPM-2/
- Sensatronics : http://www.openxtra.co.uk/product.php/34/1/
- Adder : http://www.adder.com/main.asp?id=508_2075_23632&mode=Description
Basically they seem to fit my needs, there are some important requirements though :
- the device must handle 220V/50Hz AC
- the device must be able to be connected to the linux server, either
via ethernet ip, serial rs232 or usb and handled by it
- the device must accept commands via linux script (being as simple as
some "echo value > /dev/ttySx" or as complex as some "wget http://device-ip-address/cgi/power?state=on") and must not require a browser with a java applet or whatever that can't be scripted
I'd appreciate any advice and experience about such solutions, or other for those who had addressed the same problem in a different way
Here are some really old notes to something I did a few years ago: http://www.digitalhermit.com/linux/dsl_reboot.html
It uses X10 devices available at Radio Shack and elsewhere to reboot a hung modem. This is 110V stuff, but 220V may be available.