[TriLUG] Penguins in the desert

[Christopher L Merrill]

Douglas Ward wrote:
> They have one printer with no network. The machines they have are Windows
> machines and fall prey quite often to the latest virus outbreak. They have

I can't help with many of your questions, but I have to know:
If they aren't networked and have no internet access, how are they
getting virii?

> 2) We are trying to visualize the unique challenges of operating computers
> in the desert without air conditioning. Has anyone ever done this before? If
> so, would you care to share any lessons learned?

Be sure the cases are properly ventilated and the hardware has temp
sensors...and the OS watches those sensors and shuts down properly.
If you are taking new hardware, you can test it easily enough - unplug
the processor fan and put paper or something around it to prevent
airflow. Runs some long-running operation and wait for it to overheat.
Might want to be REAL sure it's working before this test, though -
failures can be expensive :(.  I'm assuming there are tools to read
the temp readings from the OS.

Have you considered notebooks? Lower power requirements and the
better ones are designed for a wider range of operating environments.

Easy to steal, though.



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Chris Merrill                  |  http://www.webperformanceinc.com
Web Performance Inc.

Website Load Testing and Stress Testing Software
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