You can sum it all up into this; The problem is completely solved by using
a battery and having acpid installed. Except you need a way to completely
disconnect power, from the BBB's input, for a single, or perhaps two corner
cases that would otherwise require a hard reset.

All these fancy high cost solutions are honestly ridiculous, and if you can
just use an OTS UPS . . .

On Mon, May 16, 2016 at 2:55 PM, Super Twang <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>
> Hey y'all (yes, I'm in Texas),
>
> I have really appreciated all of the good ideas and thoughtful design
> ideas here.  There are some apples and oranges being discussed at times
> because the problem of BBB reliability is not single-fold.  In the hopes of
> providing a clearer "Big picture" of the issue, as well as to summarize
> some of my own research on the topic, I've attempted to capture the main
> points in this thread into an outline format.  If it is convenient, you can
> refer to specific problems/solutions/caveats by the outline number, ie (
> III.A.1 ) in any subsequent discussions -- this kind of shorthand might
> clarify the issues that are being discussed, rather than having to spell
> this stuff out (or omit it) when talking about a point.
>
> Is there a good spot on a WIKI for this somewhere?
>
> Enjoy, and thank you!
>
> ST
> -------------------- DOCUMENT IS BELOW HERE
>
>
> *SUMMARY BBB RELIABILITY PROBLEMS & FIXES:*
>
>
> *I. Problems:*
>
> *A. System/Client Software Problems:*
> *  1. Problem: Incomplete system/client sw startups ( why? -- can damage
> result with this? )*
>
> *  2. Problem: Incomplete system/client sw shutdown*
>
> *     a. Can cause system corruption*
>
> *  3. Client or system software freeze-up (it can happen!)*
>
> *     a. Can freeze device operation even in absence of power issues*
>
>
> *B. Hardware Problems:*
>
> *  1. Problem: BBB doesn't always restart without a hard-disconnect of
> power (known hardware issue)*
>
> *     a. Always - when shutdown/halted (ie shutdown/halt)*
> *     b. Sometimes - when hard cycled (ie power removed, reset button
> pushed)*
>
> *C. Power problems*
>
> *  2. Problem: Mains power can't be relied upon*
>
> *     a. Power loss (ie blackouts)*
> *     b. Partial power loss (ie brownouts)*
>
>
> *II. Requirements:*
>
> *  A. A "Reliability System" to address above problems.  *
>
> *III. Needs:*
>
> *  A. Backup power source for*
>
> *     1. BBB until complete shutdown*
> *     2. Additional components of reliability system*
>
> *  B. Hard-Reset Circuit: to completely remove, and re-add power to the
> board (for I.B.1 above)*
>
> *  C. Sensing: Need to detect*
>
> *     1. Power off: both presence and duration (ie detect/differentiate
> I.C.2.a and I.C.2.b)*
> *     2. System soft-freeze up (detect I.A.3)*
> *     3. Power on: both present, and "Good" (ie good enough for full
> reboot + protected powerdown)*
>
> *  D. State Machine to enforce guaranteed order, no matter what*
>
> *     1. "Protected Shutdown": Complete shutdown after it has been
> initiated*
>
> *        a. even if power up is specified during shutdown (in which case
> protected startup begins thereafter)*
>
> *     2. "Protected startup": Complete startup once it has been initiated*
>
> *        a. even if power is removed during startup (in which case
> protected shutdown follows)*
>
> *     3. "Power Good" before Startup: Power remains detached until enough
> backup power for Protected Startup + Protected Shutdown*
>
> *     4. "Complete" Power off after shutdown: Complete detachment of power
> from BBB to solve (I.B.1)*
>
> *     5. Others?*
>
>
>
> *IV. Solution Design Components/Approaches*
>
> *   A. Backup power*
>
> *      1. Li-po Battery backup *
>
> *         a. Pros:*
> *            i.   Long lasting*
> *            ii.  Relatively simple circuitry to support*
> *            iii. Greatest capacity*
>
> *         b. Cons:*
> *            i.  "Dangerous", thus travel/shipping restrictions*
> *            ii. Limited recharge cycles*
>
> *      2. Super capacitor-based Backup Power*
>
> *         a. Pros:*
> *            i.  No practical recharge cycle-limit*
> *            ii. "Safe" enough for restrition-free transport/shipping*
>
> *         b. Cons:*
> *    i.   Increased circuit complexity, esp for 2-cell systems needed to
> produce 5v*
>
>
> *      3. Coin-cell (to power Reliability System only)*
> *         a. Pros:*
> *            i.   Cheap*
> *            ii.  Long-lasting (10+ years)*
> *            iii. "Safe"*
> *         b. Cons:*
> *            i.   Only powers reliability system, need additional solution
> for BBB*
>
>
> *    B. Hard Reset Circuit (Pretty well known problem with solutions out
> there)*
>
> *       1. Relay (physical, or solid state)*
> *       2. Some kind of transistor switch*
>
> *    C. Sensing*
>
> *       1. Mains Power off*
> *          a. Voltage comparator of some sort*
>
> *       2. System "Soft-freeze"*
>
> *          a. BBB On-board software-controlled watchdog timer initiates
> reboot*
>
> *       3. System initiated shutdown*
> *          a. GPIO pin connected to Reliability System, change state on
> start*
>
> *       4. System completed shutdown *
> *          a. heuristic delay after final GPIO pin state change on end
> (from IV.C.3.a just above)*
>
> *       5. System initiated startup*
> *          a. Implied action on "Power Good" (add'l sensing not needed)*
>
> *       6. System completed startup*
> *          a. GPIO pin connected to Reliability System changes state on
> "Startup complete"*
>
> *       7. Mains Power On*
> *          a. Voltage comparator of some sort   *
>
> *       8. Mains Power "Good" (enough backup power available for Protected
> Startup + Protected Shutdown*
>
>
> *    D. State Machine*
>
> *       1. An MCU of some sort*
>
> *          a. MSP430 series (William Herman/Wulfmans's recs)*
> *             i. Pros: *
> *                * very low power + coin cell battery == >10 years backup
> life*
> *                * onboard ADC for voltage measurement/sensing*
> *                * inexpensive*
>
> *          b. ST Micro series (ie STM8)*
>
> *          c. NXP's LPC800 series*
>
> *       2. Discrete logic state machine*
>
> *          a. Pros*
> *             i. More tolerant of brownouts(?) than unprotected MCU*
>
> *          b. Cons*
> *             i. Lots of soldering!    *
>
> *       3. Hybrid Technology - Programmable Mixed Mode Circuits*
>
> *          a. Silego GreenPak (John3909's rec)*
>
> *             i. Pros*
> *                * Nice dev kit ( < $60 )*
> *                * Very inexpensive ( < $0.40 )*
> *                * More tolerant of brownouts(?) than unprotected MCU
> (John can you comment on this?)*
>
>
> *V. Commercially Available Solutions*
>
> *   A. Andice Labs Power Cape (Available for BBB/RaspberryPi)*
> *      http://andicelabs.com/beaglebone-powercape/
> <http://andicelabs.com/beaglebone-powercape/>*
> *      Li-Po Battery Backup, with software readable battery voltage and
> current*
> *      ~ $65 (with headers) *
>
>
> *   B. Juice4Halt (Built for RaspberryPi, not BBB, but could be
> repurposed, one would assume)*
> *      http://juice4halt.com <http://juice4halt.com>*
> *      Dual Super-capacitor Backup, with State Machine implemented*
> *      ~ $85 (5V, all told shipped to US)*
>
> *   C. Others?*
>
>
>
>
>
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