OpenBSD 3.9 Adds Sensor Framework 85
wbglinks writes to tell us ZDNet is reporting that the newest version of OpenBSD will include a sensor framework to help system administrators keep tabs on the environmental conditions of their servers. From the article: "At present, there are a number of commercial products that allow the environmental conditions of servers to be monitored, but different brands of server require different products. For example, Dell PowerEdge servers use the Embedded Server Management tool, while Sun Fire Servers use Sun's Remote System Control. This can make server management tricky when running a heterogeneous architecture. OpenBSD 3.9, which is scheduled for release on 1 May, includes support for the sensors and the sensor management tools used on a number of architectures."
Re:I wonder... (Score:1, Interesting)
However it will most likely not be truly cross platform. I will be waiting for the Windows versions very eagerly. When you start talking about heterogenous environments, there will be Windows servers around. You can't get around that no matter how zealot and OSS fundamentalist you are.
Re:File cabinets and fires (Score:2, Interesting)
Sensor management or no sensor management it's pretty the same thing... instead of the server dialing / paging you there can be a human dialing / paging you anyway. And of course YOU CAN switch off your cell phone if it's bothering...
This reminds me of some time back when I used to tech support for a telco logging system. I was out with my friends BBQ-ing in a weekend when I get this strange phone call (all after some beers and stuff):
Other end: "Hello, there's a mess in here... air conditioning broke up, the heat pipe from the next level is also broken, all the servers room is flooded"
Me: "Who the fuck are you? Where the fuck are you? And what do I have to do with this mess?"
Other end: "We're on [Street Name] and [repeats again the whole thing]"
Me: "And what's on the [Street Name] and what do I have to do with that?"
Other end: "We're at [Street Name] and like I said [repeats the whole thing again]
Me (finally realizing the address matches one of my customers): "Ah... [Firm Name]? And who the hell told you to call me? Am I listed by any chance by mistake in the plumbers section of yellow pages? Did anyone make a joke or something?"
Other end: "Well... I work here and the only contact I could find there or in my contacts list is your phone no... was posted on a sticky on one of the server boxes"
Turns out that in a fucking really big enterprise... no one knew who to call in case of any kind of emergency or something like that... so the poor guy just took a chance with the first phone no he saw. Not his boss, not a guy working there, but me, a contractor for servicing a particular piece of software running on one of the damn boxes... It doesn't matter how many alarms, logging, notifications one sets up as long as there's not a procedure for dealing with it and people don't know who to call for each of them.
I'm still wandering what would have happened if I would just say "OK... I know, I'm just entering the building... I'll take care of that, don't bother"
Re:Which means... (Score:1, Interesting)
It would be great if there was a standard framework as a part of ES3, which then required just a few discrete drivers installed to read the sensors, much like how the RAID controller and NICs are supported - hopefully not needing re-installation each time the kernel is upgraded, and certainly not needing force installs.