I have a self-updating github readme, reads a sensor at my home
I joke if it goes down means something happened to me but sometimes the server has a problem like running out of space since an error logger keeps writing over and over
fanatic2pope · 19m ago
I have a home server that is on 24x7 protected by a UPS. The UPS monitoring daemon (nut) provides a hook for calling a script when its status changes, so I have it push a high priority notification to my phone via ntfy whenever it goes on battery or off battery. I also have it broadcast on mqtt so that in the future I can have a dedicated daemon that will collect stats and take other actions that aren't really appropriate for a hook script.
sugarpimpdorsey · 13m ago
How hilariously complicated.
Make UPS data available over SNMP, track via MRTG. A simple, decidedly 1990s solution that unsurprisingly still works. Pretty graphs and everything.
fanatic2pope · 12m ago
Complicated? It's a 10 line shell script and a single configuration item in the nut config.
sugarpimpdorsey · 11m ago
> I also have it broadcast on mqtt so that in the future I can have a dedicated daemon that will collect stat
mqtt? How many Docker containers do you have running to track UPS voltage?
I keep forgetting SNMP is not "web scale" and only for greybeards on a minimum of 3+ prescription medications.
fanatic2pope · 6m ago
LOL, docker for running mosquitto at home? Who does that?
sugarpimpdorsey · 6m ago
More people than you think....
AFAIK it's the "recommended" way to run it.
fusionadvocate · 18m ago
How does ntfy compares to Pushover?
fanatic2pope · 13m ago
I don't know, I've never used pushover. A quick look at their home page doesn't seem to indicate the option of self hosting on a VPS, so that precludes it for me. Otherwise from the code samples provided, it looks quite similar.
toomuchtodo · 1h ago
Very cool project! Another method you can run entirely remotely, if your utility supports it, is poll the utility's customer API endpoint for data where they expose if your power is out using your smart meter. ComEd in Illinois supports this, for example.
black_puppydog · 1h ago
I've seen the John Oliver videos and all, so I know this comes as a surprise to no-one but... the US needs to get its act together and build some actual infrastructure. I've heard lots of encouraging stories on the Volts podcast about it, too. Not enough, not fast enough, from what I understand.
I'm 38 and I've had power go out in my house for lots of reasons, but all of them came down to me blowing a fuse somehow. I can't remember ever having had an actual, you know, power outage. So I guess I just here to tell you over there in the US that another way is possible. :)
nancyminusone · 38s ago
Depends on the region. I live in one of the bad areas, with lots of trees. The power goes out every couple months for a couple hours.
But I was very surprised to learn that until 2021, most Texans had never had a power interruption in decades (which I suppose added to their panic).
California has it's wildfires and earthquakes. The West has extreme temperature swings. Southeast has hurricanes, and Northeast has trees, ice, and wind. What does your country or its neighbors face?
danieldk · 6m ago
Same here (Western Europe). I can't recall the last time we had a power outage that was not caused inside the house.
All power cables except for long-distance transport are underground though, which probably helps a lot and might account for the difference to a large extend.
(Our microwave oven did trip our residual-current circuit breaker a few weeks ago, never encountered that before, only 'fuse switch'-flips. Sadly that was the end of the device after 16 years.)
mcone · 1h ago
Do you have trees where you live? :) Because we have above-ground power lines in much of the US, wind and ice are always bringing branches down on power lines.
toomuchtodo · 19m ago
New local and/or urban last mile electrical distribution infra is typically buried, but to your point, lots of legacy above ground infra at risk until someone finds the funds to bury/harden it.
(have an electrical journeyman friend who will spend the rest of his life upgrading California electrical infra, we speak frequently on this topic)
wredcoll · 41m ago
I'm as big a fan of ragging on "america" as anyone else, but it does occasionally have a few relatively unique problems compared to most other countries, such as the distances involved and the (lack of) density of population.
Above ground electric lines vs buried ones are a good example of how quickly your ROI can drop off for infrastructure problems.
Spending 10 million to add cold-weather protection to a powerplant that services 5million people? No brainer. Spending 10 million to bury 100 miles of power line that services 1000 people? Ehh...
I joke if it goes down means something happened to me but sometimes the server has a problem like running out of space since an error logger keeps writing over and over
Make UPS data available over SNMP, track via MRTG. A simple, decidedly 1990s solution that unsurprisingly still works. Pretty graphs and everything.
mqtt? How many Docker containers do you have running to track UPS voltage?
I keep forgetting SNMP is not "web scale" and only for greybeards on a minimum of 3+ prescription medications.
AFAIK it's the "recommended" way to run it.
I'm 38 and I've had power go out in my house for lots of reasons, but all of them came down to me blowing a fuse somehow. I can't remember ever having had an actual, you know, power outage. So I guess I just here to tell you over there in the US that another way is possible. :)
But I was very surprised to learn that until 2021, most Texans had never had a power interruption in decades (which I suppose added to their panic).
California has it's wildfires and earthquakes. The West has extreme temperature swings. Southeast has hurricanes, and Northeast has trees, ice, and wind. What does your country or its neighbors face?
All power cables except for long-distance transport are underground though, which probably helps a lot and might account for the difference to a large extend.
(Our microwave oven did trip our residual-current circuit breaker a few weeks ago, never encountered that before, only 'fuse switch'-flips. Sadly that was the end of the device after 16 years.)
https://www.fema.gov/case-study/overhead-underground-it-pays...
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/21/burying-power-lines-for-wild...
https://research.ufl.edu/should-power-lines-go-underground.h...
(have an electrical journeyman friend who will spend the rest of his life upgrading California electrical infra, we speak frequently on this topic)
Above ground electric lines vs buried ones are a good example of how quickly your ROI can drop off for infrastructure problems.
Spending 10 million to add cold-weather protection to a powerplant that services 5million people? No brainer. Spending 10 million to bury 100 miles of power line that services 1000 people? Ehh...