I recently had the opportunity to buy a cheap LTO-4 tape drive with some new tapes. LTO-4 tapes have a raw data capacity of 800 GB and compressed up to 1'600 GB. This fits perfectly with my current data usage on my NAS. But why should I use a tape backup in 2018? There are good reasons for it. Tapes have a high capacity on a low cost per capacity. LTOs have a higher longevity compared to a mechanical hard disk.
Encrypted Cloud Backup
Until today, I daily backup my data to an external USB drive connected to my NAS. This is a good solution to avoid accidentally deleting of files and have somehow a version control. But it doesn’t protect my data against a local incident like fire or flood. If I want to avoid such harm I must store the data somewhere else.
In the last years cloud storage has become cheaper and cheaper.
IoT Battery
Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) are used over a wide range of applications, from small mobile communication devices, to power tools, home battery storage for photovoltaic energy up to electric cars and trucks. Every li-ion battery consists of multiple cells which are connected in series and parallel, according to the requirement of the application. A battery management system (BMS) is used to observe the battery and operate it in safe environment. The BMS often measures the cell voltages, temperature and the pack current.
Access Computers in different Subnet with VPN and proxyport
At the moment I am responsible for several ongoing experiments in a laboratory. Most instruments have their own computer to manage the experiments. These computers are accessed via remote desktop. In some experiments a server is running which controls and monitors the tests. The servers can be accessed via applications installed on host computers. When I am on site in the lab or in the office, I can access all experiments.
10GbE for 88CHF
My HPE Proliant DL380p virtualization server is running out of storage space again. Unfortunately, only HDDs from HPE can be installed in this server, which are relatively expensive for hobby use. It must therefore be a simple and cost-effective solution.
Idea On the internet I could find two cheap used 10Gb network cards, the ConnectX®-2 from Mellanox. These cards can be connected via Direct Attach Cable (DAC) for short distances. The following figure shows the network architecture.