[asterisk-users] Re: Digium Hardware Reliability
On Sun, Jul 02, 2006 at 00:31:36 -0400, M.Hockings [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Yup that looks like it is in our future now. I had thought it was a misconfiguration of the UPS software on the new machine but apparently not. The battery has died in the UPS. With two machines and displays it could run them for almost an hour and I have it set to run for 10 minutes then start shutdown then power down the ups 5 min later. If you are using 'nut' (Network UPS Tools) you should be able to have your system monitor the UPS. So that you shutdown on low battery rather than after a fixed period of time. Also on some UPS's they will report if the battery needs to be replaced and I believe nut can notify you of that condition. (Though there may be a visual indication on the UPS as well.) Some UPS's will even let you hotswap batteries. If you want to go this route, you probably want to check for how well the UPS is supported by nut. I recently bought a UPS. I went with an MGE Systems Nova 1100 because I wanted a line interactive UPS to get protection against out of spec voltages but didn't want to pay for the better units that provide truer sign wave output and have more flexible control options and because they are supporting the nut project and provide documentation on the protocols their UPS use (unlike, say Belkin). However, the Nova is only properly supported in the development version of nut, so you need to be willing to get that version if you want to use it. The Nova is a fairly new model and I expect that is why the support in the latest released version of nut is broken. I would expect support for older UPS's to be better in the latest release. ___ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- asterisk-users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
[Asterisk-Users] Re: Digium Hardware Reliability
Tigran Kocharyan wrote: Mike, If you feel afraid of the next power outage, why not install a more powerfull UPS with a longer run time? Or, as it is in my case, a friend of mine substituted the factory default battery in the UPS with a car battery, that holds the Server for 4-5 hours. Add another battery and it will hold 8-9 hours. Really funny but it works. Regards, Tigran You know what Tigran, I have been considering exactly that. The UPS that I am using has two 12v batteries in it in series. The batteries don't seem to be holding a charge any longer (which was the start of my woes). They are readily available in the US for about $15 each but seem to be unavailable in Canada. So my plan is to get another UPS for now and work out a better battery solution for the first one as it is a nice UPS with AVR and all that stuff. Thanks for the confirmation that this type of solution would work. Mike ___ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- Asterisk-Users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
Re: [Asterisk-Users] Re: Digium Hardware Reliability
Thanks for your email, I am currently on annual leave and will return on the 19th July. Many Thanks Scott Pinhorne ___ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- Asterisk-Users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
Re: [Asterisk-Users] Re: Digium Hardware Reliability
Thanks for your email, I am currently on annual leave and will return on the 19th July. Many Thanks Scott Pinhorne ___ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- Asterisk-Users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
Re: [Asterisk-Users] Re: Digium Hardware Reliability
Thanks for your email, I am currently on annual leave and will return on the 19th July. Many Thanks Scott Pinhorne ___ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- Asterisk-Users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
Re: [Asterisk-Users] Re: Digium Hardware Reliability
Thanks for your email, I am currently on annual leave and will return on the 19th July. Many Thanks Scott Pinhorne ___ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- Asterisk-Users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
Re: [Asterisk-Users] Re: Digium Hardware Reliability
Thanks for your email, I am currently on annual leave and will return on the 19th July. Many Thanks Scott Pinhorne ___ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- Asterisk-Users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
Re: [Asterisk-Users] Re: Digium Hardware Reliability
Mike, If you feel afraid of the next power outage, why not install a more powerfull UPS with a longer run time? Or, as it is in my case, a friend of mine substituted the factory default battery in the UPS with a car battery, that holds the Server for 4-5 hours. Add another battery and it will hold 8-9 hours. Really funny but it works. Regards, Tigran M.Hockings wrote: Andrew Kohlsmith wrote: On Thursday 29 June 2006 21:38, M.Hockings wrote: How reliable is Digium hardware in general.? My new TDM400P just died. I have a number of Digium T1 products (T100P, TE410P, TE405P and TE406P) as well as a few TDM400 based boards. No failures in the last 2 years or so. So, at over 2x the cost is Sangoma hardware more sturdy than the Digium stuff? Not that I've seen. I also have a number of Sangoma products. Both work very well for me. As an engineer, I can also see that the protection on the interfaces is comparable. Mike (totally UNimpressed with Digium) I don't think this is a Digium problem, at least not yet. What did their customer service people say? Can you ask for a failure report? You note that power went out. Generally when this occurs there is a very high chance of transient voltage spiking or line swells not only on the residential electrical power grid but also on the telephone network. Do you have any telco line protection in place to protect the card from nasties coming in from the outside? Is the protection correctly installed? How about electrical protection? The MOVs in your power strip and UPS are only good for a few hits before they become ineffective (something they never tell you). Unless you know something more than you've presented here it is a little premature to start pointing fingers. -A. Point taken. I was not so much point fingers but asking what my expectation should be and maybe shedding some frustration. I don't really have a lot of experience with this kind of communications gear and it could very well be that one should keep spare daughter boards in stock. I was finally able to get the thing going again but I do not know what I did to accomplish that. I had tried the card in different PCI slots, reseated the daughter cards, powered the machine with and without the card, checked BIOS settings then after half a day of fiddling it just started responding again. Who knows what the problem was? As far as heat and stuff go, the card is in the only card in a new IBM/Lenovo box and has plenty of air on all sides. The box itself is powered by an AVR type UPS, which according to the graphs it shows is keeping the power pretty stable even though dips. One weakness is the incoming PSTN line, what is the best way to protect that beyond the device at the premises entry ? So now it appears to be working again, don't know what failed, don't know what made it work. and afraid of the next power outage at this rural SOHO. Mike ___ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- Asterisk-Users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users ___ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- Asterisk-Users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
Re: [Asterisk-Users] Re: Digium Hardware Reliability
Also as Bruno suggests I'll pick a new UPS that has the phone line protection as well, though are phone lines are underground to the local station even though we are in a rural location. Cheaper than hanging it on poles I guess. A little tidbit of trivia here I've found the underground lines in some rural areas were a somewhat expensive experiment tried by some telcos. In some rural places in SC it was tried because the strong thunderstorms in the area tended to frequent damage above ground lines. The thought was putting them underground, while a bit more costly, might save some money in the long run. So in certain sections they tried running underground. As a result, those areas of the state usually now can't get things like DSL because it costs them too much to repull the grade of line to support it. That is until they suffer water damage such as in places like Mississippi after the last hurricanes. But I digress... Raymond McKay President RAYNET Technologies LLC http://www.raynettech.com (860) 693-2226 x 31 Toll Free (877) 693-2226 ___ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- Asterisk-Users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
Re: [Asterisk-Users] Re: Digium Hardware Reliability
M.Hockings wrote: Even now, given that I don't know what caused the problem or what solved the problem (for the time being). I might expect that powering the system off may cause software errors due to partially written files but I would NOT expect it to damage the hardware, particularly just a comm card. Hence *my* feeling for *this* card is that it is unreliable. It is however reassuring to hear that overall the reliability of the Digium hardware is good. When you say the card just worked after it apparently went dead, did you switch it around to a different PCI slot? Or did you leave it in the same place, and after some time it worked again? Flynn ___ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- Asterisk-Users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
[Asterisk-Users] Re: Digium Hardware Reliability
El Flynn wrote: M.Hockings wrote: Even now, given that I don't know what caused the problem or what solved the problem (for the time being). I might expect that powering the system off may cause software errors due to partially written files but I would NOT expect it to damage the hardware, particularly just a comm card. Hence *my* feeling for *this* card is that it is unreliable. It is however reassuring to hear that overall the reliability of the Digium hardware is good. When you say the card just worked after it apparently went dead, did you switch it around to a different PCI slot? Or did you leave it in the same place, and after some time it worked again? Flynn I had it in a different slot, out of the machine entirely, in a different slot again then finally back in the original slot. And that is where it is working now. This was a new Digium card in a new IBM (Lenovo) machine. Mike ___ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- Asterisk-Users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
[Asterisk-Users] Re: Digium Hardware Reliability
Raymond McKay wrote: Also as Bruno suggests I'll pick a new UPS that has the phone line protection as well, though are phone lines are underground to the local station even though we are in a rural location. Cheaper than hanging it on poles I guess. A little tidbit of trivia here I've found the underground lines in some rural areas were a somewhat expensive experiment tried by some telcos. In some rural places in SC it was tried because the strong thunderstorms in the area tended to frequent damage above ground lines. The thought was putting them underground, while a bit more costly, might save some money in the long run. So in certain sections they tried running underground. As a result, those areas of the state usually now can't get things like DSL because it costs them too much to repull the grade of line to support it. That is until they suffer water damage such as in places like Mississippi after the last hurricanes. But I digress... Raymond McKay President RAYNET Technologies LLC http://www.raynettech.com (860) 693-2226 x 31 Toll Free (877) 693-2226 ___ That is very interesting. I used to have two PSTN lines here but now we use one PSTN and one VOIP nicely unified through Asterisk so people don't really know which they are using. I am unable to get DSL here, so maybe thats a clue as to why. The line we got rid of would not work well in the spring unless you first phoned it from the first line to dry it out or something a bit then you could dial over it. The bad line was an expensive commercial line too that apparently went to a more local switch. The more reliable one that we kept goes to a station about 12 or so km away and is quite noisy which caused me a lot of grief to get the right echo can settings. Mike ___ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- Asterisk-Users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
Re: [Asterisk-Users] Re: Digium Hardware Reliability
So now it appears to be working again, don't know what failed, don't know what made it work. and afraid of the next power outage at this rural SOHO. Might I recommend a large UPS connected to the asterisk Box. Power goes out and system then shuts down gracefully... This should equal no worries of card damage. Regards, Raymond McKay President RAYNET Technologies LLC http://www.raynettech.com (860) 693-2226 x 31 Toll Free (877) 693-2226 ___ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- Asterisk-Users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
[Asterisk-Users] Re: Digium Hardware Reliability
On Fri, Jun 30, 2006 at 14:10:06 -0400, M.Hockings [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: One weakness is the incoming PSTN line, what is the best way to protect that beyond the device at the premises entry ? It is common for UPS's to provide surge protection for a phone line. That would probably be a cheap place to start. ___ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- Asterisk-Users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
[Asterisk-Users] Re: Digium Hardware Reliability
Brian Capouch wrote: M.Hockings wrote: Mike (totally UNimpressed with Digium) Point taken. I was not so much point fingers but asking what my expectation should be and maybe shedding some frustration. I don't really have a lot of experience with this kind of communications gear All the more reason for you to fully inform yourself *first*, and then start posting negative drivel to a public mailing list. B. Fully inform myself of exactly what? Googling for TDM400P diagnostics didn't get far and before posting I had already removed and reseated the card and all it's connections, verified the configuration and all that. I did all this because my background in chip and board design tells me that a great many problems are primarily loose connections. After all that the card was NOT responding and appeared dead. I would expect that even a transient on the PSTN line would only blow the FXO daughter card and not leave the PCI card itself unresponsive. Even now, given that I don't know what caused the problem or what solved the problem (for the time being). I might expect that powering the system off may cause software errors due to partially written files but I would NOT expect it to damage the hardware, particularly just a comm card. Hence *my* feeling for *this* card is that it is unreliable. It is however reassuring to hear that overall the reliability of the Digium hardware is good. Mike ___ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- Asterisk-Users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
[Asterisk-Users] Re: Digium Hardware Reliability
Raymond McKay wrote: Might I recommend a large UPS connected to the asterisk Box. Power goes out and system then shuts down gracefully... This should equal no worries of card damage. Regards, Raymond McKay President RAYNET Technologies LLC http://www.raynettech.com (860) 693-2226 x 31 Toll Free (877) 693-2226 Yup that looks like it is in our future now. I had thought it was a misconfiguration of the UPS software on the new machine but apparently not. The battery has died in the UPS. With two machines and displays it could run them for almost an hour and I have it set to run for 10 minutes then start shutdown then power down the ups 5 min later. Also as Bruno suggests I'll pick a new UPS that has the phone line protection as well, though are phone lines are underground to the local station even though we are in a rural location. Cheaper than hanging it on poles I guess. Thanks Mike ___ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- Asterisk-Users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
[Asterisk-Users] Re: Digium Hardware Reliability
Andrew Kohlsmith wrote: On Thursday 29 June 2006 21:38, M.Hockings wrote: How reliable is Digium hardware in general.? My new TDM400P just died. I have a number of Digium T1 products (T100P, TE410P, TE405P and TE406P) as well as a few TDM400 based boards. No failures in the last 2 years or so. So, at over 2x the cost is Sangoma hardware more sturdy than the Digium stuff? Not that I've seen. I also have a number of Sangoma products. Both work very well for me. As an engineer, I can also see that the protection on the interfaces is comparable. Mike (totally UNimpressed with Digium) I don't think this is a Digium problem, at least not yet. What did their customer service people say? Can you ask for a failure report? You note that power went out. Generally when this occurs there is a very high chance of transient voltage spiking or line swells not only on the residential electrical power grid but also on the telephone network. Do you have any telco line protection in place to protect the card from nasties coming in from the outside? Is the protection correctly installed? How about electrical protection? The MOVs in your power strip and UPS are only good for a few hits before they become ineffective (something they never tell you). Unless you know something more than you've presented here it is a little premature to start pointing fingers. -A. Point taken. I was not so much point fingers but asking what my expectation should be and maybe shedding some frustration. I don't really have a lot of experience with this kind of communications gear and it could very well be that one should keep spare daughter boards in stock. I was finally able to get the thing going again but I do not know what I did to accomplish that. I had tried the card in different PCI slots, reseated the daughter cards, powered the machine with and without the card, checked BIOS settings then after half a day of fiddling it just started responding again. Who knows what the problem was? As far as heat and stuff go, the card is in the only card in a new IBM/Lenovo box and has plenty of air on all sides. The box itself is powered by an AVR type UPS, which according to the graphs it shows is keeping the power pretty stable even though dips. One weakness is the incoming PSTN line, what is the best way to protect that beyond the device at the premises entry ? So now it appears to be working again, don't know what failed, don't know what made it work. and afraid of the next power outage at this rural SOHO. Mike ___ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- Asterisk-Users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
Re: [Asterisk-Users] Re: Digium Hardware Reliability
M.Hockings wrote: Mike (totally UNimpressed with Digium) Point taken. I was not so much point fingers but asking what my expectation should be and maybe shedding some frustration. I don't really have a lot of experience with this kind of communications gear All the more reason for you to fully inform yourself *first*, and then start posting negative drivel to a public mailing list. B. -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. ___ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- Asterisk-Users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
Re: [Asterisk-Users] Re: Digium Hardware Reliability
M.Hockings wrote: One weakness is the incoming PSTN line, what is the best way to protect that beyond the device at the premises entry ? The device at the entry, assuming it was even installed correctly, is there to protect the PSTN Central Office, NOT your equipment. There are many sites on the net that discuss protection, and lots protectors available. No easy answer, given no one knows where in the world you are, and what sort of hazards there might be. In New York City, or Washington D.C. with underground cables, protection can be somewhat less than in Russell Kansas, as one example. All of that said, it sounds as if your problems had a lot more to do with linux and Asterisk configuration issues than ingress of foreign potentials. Components damaged by power outages, crossed power and PSTN lines and such seldom heal themselves Start with a good UPS, good grounding and some good protection on the PSTN line. John Novack ___ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- Asterisk-Users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
