[ale] Up for 1 year

[Transam]

On Mon, Sep 22, 2003 at 02:38:41PM -0400, Dow Hurst wrote:
> Okay, now who is wasting bandwidth? ;-)
> Dow

> Geoffrey wrote:

> >James P. Kinney III wrote:

> >>>wimps.

> >>HEY!! We were more concerned about trashing the box! We actually cut 
> >>into live power lines on an extra machine to see if it was possible
> >>to add a pair of 3-prong plugs to support changing extension cords
> >>while we went down 5 flights of stairs, down 2 city blocks, across
> >>one heavily trafficked street, and then back down another flight of
> >>steps to the new lab room. The problem was electrical. Different
> >>supply lines had different voltages and different ground connections.
> >>We burned up 5 or 6 power supplies making the transitions between
> >>buildings. We considered running a REALLY long cord but the
> >>transition to the new building power was the impossible one. It was
> >>actually out of phase with the building across the street. So we
> >>would have needed a phase-modulating power supply to interface
> >>between the AC supply and the pc power supply. We had one in the
> >>department, but we were expressly forbidden from using it or any
> >>other equipment currently in use by any research professor on any 
> >>project.
You could have inserted a relay that switches fast (most relays switch
faster than the 100-500 milliseconds that a PC power supply can tolerate
the AC being interrupted.

Then use the relay to switch from the first building's power to a
charged up UPS plugged into the building.  Then unplug the UPS from
the outlet.  Then wheel the UPS and system to the new building and
reverse the process.

> >So you had the means at your disposal to resolve the issue, yet you 
> >took the easy way out.... :)

> >>And you called us wimps!

Bob Toxen
bob at verysecurelinux.com               [Please use for email to me]
http://www.verysecurelinux.com        [Network&Linux/Unix security consulting]
http://www.realworldlinuxsecurity.com [My book:"Real World Linux Security 2/e"]
Quality Linux & UNIX security and SysAdmin & software consulting since 1990.

"Microsoft: Unsafe at any clock speed!"
   -- Bob Toxen 10/03/2002

> -- 
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> Dow Hurst                  Office: 770-499-3428            *
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