The title is pretty much self-explanatory. Using car batteries with the necessary additional equipment to make a functional and affordable, uninterrupted power supply.
Let's see what is there to offer by doing this DIY vs what the ready-made options have to offer.
The market offerings vary over a range of products from both cheap to expensive. But taking a look at some of the more professional options:
Schneider APC Inverters are advanced and dependable uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems made by Schneider Electric.
These inverters use high-quality components and advanced technology to ensure they perform well and protect devices during power outages. They come in different models for various power needs, from homes to large businesses. They also have smart management software for easy monitoring and control of the UPS status and power settings.
Its quite easily a reputable option for our operation.
Eaton Tripp-lite inverters, just like Schneider APC Inverters, are exceptional backup power systems that ensure uninterrupted power supply (UPS) for your valuable devices. While both brands offer reliable performance, they come with subtle differences to meet varying needs.
Similar to Schneider APC Inverters, Eaton Tripp-lite devices are built with advanced technology and high-quality materials, guaranteeing smooth operations during power outages.
Thanks to their reliability and versatility, they are a popular choice for anyone seeking dependable power backup solutions.
What sets CyberPower UPSs apart is their smart features and advanced technology. They come with intelligent LCD displays, providing real-time information on power status, battery levels, and runtime. Users can easily customize settings to optimize UPS performance.
Moreover, CyberPower UPSs are energy-efficient and some models even work with smart home systems, allowing remote monitoring and control for added convenience.
Overall, these options, though being extremely feature rich, can cost a hefty amount. Not to be taken wrong, yes it does cost a fair bit to have a professional UPS setup that complies with safety regulations etc.
But it is possible to make a suitable setup that cuts the unnecessary corners to make an equally capable UPS system by ourselves.
Since we have our baseline established, let's understand what our overall goal is:
Choosing the right UPS capacity for your needs is a crucial step in building a reliable power backup system. Here's a concise guide to help you calculate the appropriate UPS capacity:
To determine the right battery capacity for your UPS system, consider the desired runtime and battery voltage, using a simple water pipe analogy for clarity.
Think of electricity as water in a pipe, where Volts represent pipe size, and Amps signify water pressure. A smaller pipe (low Volts) needs higher pressure (high Amps) to move water, while a larger pipe (higher Volts) requires lower pressure (lower Amps) for the same flow rate.
Similarly, in your UPS system, battery voltage is like pipe size, and Amps represent electricity pressure. Batteries typically have lower voltage than 120v AC from the wall. Adjust Amps for the battery's voltage using the calculator.
For example, a 20VA load at 120v needs around 0.15 Amps. With a 12v battery, Amps increase to about 1.5 amps (considering a power factor of 0.6).
The goal is to find the right voltage-amps balance to choose the appropriate battery capacity (Ah) for your UPS. By using this ratio and the battery calculator, select a reliable and efficient power backup solution meeting your specific needs.
In essence, determine the Amps your system consumes at 120v and use it to find a suitable battery with ample voltage.
Battery voltages are in the multiples of 12v, such as 12v, 24v, 48v etc. This is mostly in part due to the way these batteries are made.
Increasing the voltage in the inverter leads to more losses, resulting in wasted energy. Inverters commonly experience around 20% losses. The inverter's main task is to convert the battery's direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC) at 120v, enabling our computers to use it.
Interestingly, computers themselves operate on DC at voltages similar to batteries. Therefore, we essentially convert low voltage DC into AC and then back into low voltage DC using the computer's power supply. This process causes efficiency losses at each step. To simplify this process, a DC buck converter can be used to make it a one-step process, but it involves different voltage levels, which is beyond our current topic.
While running the system with 48v batteries is possible, it is more suitable for much larger systems. For our context, we will work with a 24-volt system.
In the world of Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS), the "duty cycle" becomes a crucial factor to consider. The duty cycle simply indicates how long a UPS can operate continuously without problems. UPS devices have different duty cycles, which help us distinguish between regular units and heavy-duty ones.
Regular UPS units, like the ones used in homes or small offices, are designed for intermittent power backup needs. They work well for short outages and small loads. In contrast, manufacturers design heavy-duty UPS systems for industrial or critical applications, allowing them to provide continuous power for extended periods without encountering any issues.
Understanding the duty cycle is vital for choosing the right UPS to meet specific needs. It ensures correct usage, prolongs the UPS's lifespan, and prevents potential problems that may arise from exceeding its capacity.
For this application, carefully look for UPSs categorized as "Extended Runtime," as they will be the most suitable choice.
A UPS and an Inverter are not the same thing.
A UPS is specifically designed to manage the low current DC power adapters needed for running multiple devices together. On the contrary, other devices meant for single use often fail when handling loads below half their capacity, as I've observed when powering numerous small computers simultaneously.
With most of the key points out of the way, let's talk about the more supporting components in general.
Currently, the types of batteries commonly available are:
Lead acid: The cheapest option. Same as the lead acid car batteries. However, for a UPS, we absolutely need Deep Cycle cells. This will allow them to drain to almost 0 and then be recharged. If you try this with normal lead acid batteries, they will literally fail after 3 or 4 runs to 0, which is unacceptable for a reliable UPS system.
Sealed lead acid (SLA): SLA batteries are what comes with UPS systems. They are the same as normal lead acid, but they are sealed and always deep cycle. The sealed part is important because when you charge a lead acid battery, some hydrogen gas is released, which can be explosive. Sealed Lead Acid batteries don't release any hydrogen, making them safer for closed spaces.
Lithium-ion: Lithium-ion batteries are the cornerstone of 21st century innovations. They are deep cycle, high capacity, lightweight, and can do many more cycles before degradation than lead acid. If you have the money, there is really no contest, Lithium-ion is the superior technology, providing efficient and long-lasting power backup.
Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4): The cream of the crop of batteries is LiFePO4. They have all the benefits of Lithium-ion but offer even more cycles before degradation and are even lighter weight. These batteries provide exceptional performance, making them a top choice for high-end UPS systems. However, their premium features come at a significantly higher cost, making them less suitable for budget-conscious UPS solutions.
This part is crucial for the UPS system and should not be overlooked. We need thick wiring between the batteries because they can handle a lot of current. Calling them the lifelines of your system would be a sheer understatement.
The batteries must work together as a single unit. A fuse will be placed in line between the main feed line to the UPS and the batteries. There won't be any fuses between the batteries, so the wire itself acts as a backup fuse, and it must not fail.
While bus bars can be used instead of wires, they are not necessary for computer applications. Simple 2-gauge or larger wires are sufficient to ensure they won't overheat or fail.
Using an inline 150A fuse between the battery and the UPS has always been considered an industry standard, so feel free to add that.
Make sure to adhere to the right circuit to prevent shorting, remember when dealing with batteries we must be safe. Explosions and shocks from these devices can be fatal. Kindly deal with caution.
In conclusion, when making a DIY UPS system with car batteries, remember to consider your power needs and choose the right UPS capacity. Understand the battery requirements, like voltage and amps, to select the suitable battery capacity.
Opt for reliable battery types such as sealed lead-acid or lithium-ion for better performance. Also, ensure proper sizing of the wiring and fuses between the batteries to create a safe and effective UPS setup.
By following these steps, you can build a cost-effective and dependable power backup solution tailored to your requirements.
In today's interconnected world, efficient and reliable communication is essential. When it comes to networking, two prominent technologies, Ethernet and fiber optic cables, play a vital role. Both options have their strengths and weaknesses.
Hence, it is important to understand their differences and choose the right solution for specific situations.
Additionally, there are various Ethernet cable standards to consider, each with its own benefits and costs. In this article, we will explore the different types of Ethernet and fiber optic cables, compare them both, and discuss how to determine the most suitable option for different scenarios.
There are several cabling standards that play a crucial role in various applications, but the primary ones that run the show in the background are:
Ethernet cables are a cable standard that connects computers, routers, and other devices to create networks. They allow us to share information, access the internet, and transfer data between devices.
Ethernet cables have revolutionized modern networking by enabling reliable and efficient communication over local area networks (LAN). But, they also have undergone significant advancements and standardization efforts to meet the evolving demands of data transmission.
Early Ethernet implementations used coaxial cables, but their limitations in bandwidth and reliability led to the development of twisted-pair cables.
The introduction of Category 3 (Cat3) cables in the 1990s allowed for data transfer speeds of up to 10 Mbps. Since then, there have been significant major revisions, bringing about newer standards such as Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6, Cat7 and in the latest iteration, Cat8.
However, most networks typically use Cat5e, as it became the de facto standard for Ethernet cables in many applications.
They have also witnessed advancements in shielding capabilities and resistance to electromagnetic interference (EMI). Cat7 cables, introduced in the early 2000s, provided superior shielding and performance characteristics. These cables are designed to minimize EMI and crosstalk, making them suitable for demanding applications like data centers and high-speed networks.
But Ethernet Cables do have their downsides and difficulties in implementation.
Despite these limitations, Ethernet still holds up as one of the popular wired connectivity medium for LANs.
The RJ-45 connector is a common type of connector used in Ethernet networking. It was specifically designed for Ethernet connectivity, providing a reliable and standardized interface for data transmission.
The RJ-45 connector provides plug and play functionality, Users can easily connect Ethernet cables to compatible devices without the need for complex configurations or custom adapters. This convenience simplifies network setup and maintenance.
Beyond this, the connector adheres to industry standards, ensuring that devices from different manufacturers can connect seamlessly.
Fiber optic cables are a huge improvement compared to Ethernet, and solves a lot of the pitfalls imposed by the physical capabilities of the specification. These cables quickly gained popularity and began dominating in various industries and applications.
They work by utilizing strands of glass or plastic fibers to transmit data signals in the form of light pulses. The use of light allows for faster and more reliable communication compared to the electrical signals used in Ethernet cables.
This allows for Fiber optic cables to operate at much higher bandwidth, work over longer distances, and even be immune to electromagnetic interference (EMI).
Fiber optic cables come in much fewer categories compared to Ethernet cable standards.
First, There is Single-mode Fiber (SMF), which is designed for long-distance transmission, making it suitable for applications spanning several kilometers. It offers high bandwidth and low signal loss, but is generally more expensive than multimode fiber.
And Multimode Fiber (MMF), which provides lower bandwidth compared to single-mode fiber but is more cost-effective for shorter links. MMF is available in different grades, such as OM1, OM2, OM3, and OM4, with each one providing a difference in performance.
Fiber optic cables supersede all other cabling mediums, being able to provide more than 10 Gbps, going upwards of 40 or even 100 Gbps (Gigabits per second).
With these major improvements in operational performance, there are some setbacks to what fiber optic cables can achieve.
Fiber optic cabling has rapidly gained prominence in the networking industry due to their superior performance. As technology advances and bandwidth requirements continue to escalate, fiber optic cables are expected to maintain their dominance and serve as the backbone of high-speed and reliable data communication networks.
There are various types of fiber optic connectors available, each with its unique design, characteristics, and application suitability.
Commonly used ones include:
SC connector (Subscriber Connector):
The SC connector is a square-shaped connector that uses a push-pull mechanism for quick and secure connections.
SC connectors are widely used in single-mode and multimode fiber optic systems and are popular in data communications and telecommunication applications.
LC Connector (Lucent Connector):
The LC connector is a small form factor (SFF) connector known for its compact size and high-density capabilities.
LC connectors are commonly used in high-density environments such as data centers, telecommunication networks, and enterprise networks.
ST Connector (Straight Tip):
The ST connector is one of the older connectors and is widely used in both single-mode and multimode fiber optic systems.
It uses a bayonet-style twist-lock mechanism for secure connections.
FC Connector (Ferrule Connector):
The FC connector is a threaded connector that provides a more secure connection compared to push-pull connectors.
FC connectors are often found in applications that require high precision and low signal loss, such as laboratory testing, instrumentation, and long-haul communication networks.
Coaxial cables were the primary medium for transmitting signals in early communication systems. They consist of a central conductor surrounded by an insulating layer, a metallic shield, and an outer insulating jacket.
Coaxial cables provided significant advancement over previous wiring methods, enabling higher data transfer rates and improved signal quality.
In the early days of networking, coaxial cables were widely used for transmitting data, particularly in local area networks (LAN).
Coaxial cables were later replaced by Ethernet and fiber optic cabling. One of the primary limitations was their bandwidth capacity. Coaxial cables offered limited bandwidth, which restricted data transfer rates and hindered the ability to meet the increasing demands of modern applications.
Their use still exists today in some places for things such as TV networks, but mostly have been ousted by other technologies.
BNC (Bayonet Neill-Concelman) connectors are the most common type of coaxial cable connector.
Typically used in both Internet modem connections and cable TV connections.
They are also commonly used for analog video transmission, such as CCTV systems, broadcast equipment, and professional video production.
When choosing the right kind of cabling for your home, work, or enterprise setup, There are a lot of things to take into consideration:
In short, over the years there has been a general shift in trend to what kind of cabling medium to use overall, depending on the situation at hand.
Ethernet cables, ranging from Cat5e to Cat7, offer different performance levels at varying costs. Fiber optic cables, on the other hand, provide high-speed, reliable data transmission over long distances and are immune to electromagnetic interference.
By choosing wisely on whether to opt for Ethernet or fiber optic cables and select the appropriate Ethernet cable standard for the best cost-to-performance ratio, you can make the most out of your setup without having to spend more than needed.
A good home network ensures all the computers in your home can seamlessly communicate together and with the internet without any caveats whatsoever.
Setting up a proper network ensures many things, such as enhanced security, content filtering and other data management perks, along with better quality of service for things like streaming and entertainment.
However, you don't need to break the bank to set up a complete home network. Here is a guide on some basic, affordable options to set up a network with extensive connectivity to connect every corner of your home.
A minimal foundational home network should consist of
As a prerequisite, make sure your home has the necessary Ethernet cabling and routing done to each of the computers or network devices you wish to connect.
These days, basic home routers have all the aforementioned components combined into a single device. However, there are still certain advantages to a full home network stack with dedicated components to do each job.
But a dedicated network stack provides much more flexibility, each component can be tweaked to cater to personal home requirements.
There are many affordable options to look at for buying the bare minimum components for a basic home network. Furthermore, most of these components can be bought from simple online e-commerce websites like amazon, Newegg, microcenter etc.
When choosing the appropriate parts for a home network, there are certain requirements to be met to have the best service experience. Choosing the correct amount of bandwidth, range coverage etc. matter very much.
Routers are essentially the devices that manage how devices communicate with the internet and act as the traffic controller for network data to go from one place to another.
Most home routers are provisioned by the internet service provider but other times they provide nothing but a direct Ethernet CAT line or Modem if using fiber optic or coaxial line.
The router should be one that can handle high data throughput and have an optimal amount of processing power to be able to handle multiple users at the same time.
Again, nowadays, what one considers a router is actually constituted by a router, network switch and WiFi modem. This all-in-one package creates less setup hassle; however, the downside being one router won't necessarily be able to suit everyone's home network needs.
There are many kinds of routers, such as basic wired routers, wireless routers that have WiFi capability, and Mesh WiFi routers which form a WiFi mesh network so you can have seamless uninterrupted WiFi connection anywhere in your home.
If your home isn't larger than 1400-1600 Sq. Feet, a mesh network might not be necessary, and A single plain WiFi router should suffice.
The TP-Link AX1800 is an excellent choice for this kind of situation, having an abundance of up-to-date features, enforcing security with VPNs, and a very capable WiFi modem makes it a good choice for small homes.
However, if you are looking towards buying a Mesh Wireless router, consider the TP-Link Deco Mesh. It's an affordable entry into the Mesh WiFi network system, and should provide uninterrupted WiFi Access anywhere in your home.
As far as home networks go, not much can surpass a solid wired network inside your home.
It's much more capable of sustaining a solid network connection, and being much less of a hassle to set up stationary devices like TVs, PCs, Game Consoles etc.
The downside of wired networks is the necessity of many ports to be able to connect and handle multiple devices. Hence, the necessity for a network switch.
These connectivity devices can be a choke point if you buy one which can't handle much high bandwidth. If your Internet Service plan offers more than 100 Mbit/s (Million bits per second) of speed, you might want to consider picking up a device that handles 1 Gbit/s (Billion bits per second).
In computer networks, data is sent to each other in the form of "Packets".
The difference in how hubs and switches work is how the data packets are transmitted from one endpoint to the other. Hubs broadcast packets to all devices and the recipient is the one that can read the packet data; however, a network switch transmits the data directly to and from the recipient, hence being able to much more efficiently handle the bandwidth between the devices.
This can have detrimental effects to how good your network experience is if you have many users and bandwidth needs to be allocated effectively to each user's needs to cut down on latency.
Network switches can be of managed and unmanaged type.
Unmanaged switches are devices that just manage the end-to-end point connections. Managed switches can allocate bandwidth much more intelligently, handle things like VLANs, prioritize Quality of service, control network access etc.
for a home network, however, an unmanaged switch should cater to the primary needs.
Depending on your needs, the TP-Link TL-SG108 and TL-SG116 are excellent choices, offering 8 and 16 Gigabit Ethernet ports each.
If your home wasn't designed with cable networking in mind, and mostly relies on wireless networks, you should test out the wireless connectivity strength to check if every part of your home is optimally connected.
In any case, you sense a drop in the Wi-Fi signal strength, you could pick up a Wi-Fi repeater.
The TP-Link AC1900 WiFi Extender is a pretty good choice for such a case, should it prevent you from upgrading to a network if you feel that is out of budget and need.
Another popular option for custom home network setups is making your own router with a small computer that has multiple network cards, such as a single board computer.
This can be a very affordable option that offers the most flexibility with many choices for hardware platforms, extensible software, etc.
If you are looking for an all-rounded setup, consider picking up an ARM-based Single Board Computer like the NanoPi R6S and installing software like OpenWRT for a highly configurable smart router. Possessing dual 2.5G Ethernet ports makes it suitable for high bandwidth operations as well.
There also exists software like the pi-hole, that gives you the possibility to do things like ad-blocking, your own DNS system for faster website lookups, etc.
Alternatively, you could pick up a x86 based Single Board Computer like the Zima Board, and install a custom OS like PfSense, that offers even more features like firewalls, network filtering etc.
These devices can also be configurable to show a dashboard of network statistics for diagnosing your network status etc.
There is a vast set of guides for setting up custom router setups based on your budget needs and requirements.
Your optimum home network should constitute of a solid foundation of hardware that doesn't bottleneck your experience when utilizing high bandwidth for work or entertainment experiences like streaming, gaming etc., but also be able to provide additional features to enhance your security and prevent snooping and hacking from affecting your routine.
When it comes to backing up old digital data there are a lot of various options to storing data in different formats.
This could vary between different medium types, disk setups, connectivity etc.
The two main types of data setups include Hot (or) Active data storage, and Cold data storage.
What's the difference between hot and cold storage mediums, and why does it matter ?
Hot data is active information that changes and is used daily. That means it has to be agile and on standby.
Cold data is inactive data that retains mostly static information. For example bulk data that only gets read on infrequent intervals.
This information (cold data) is considered valuable when inactive, as the speed of access is not a priority, but managing where it is kept is.
Hot and cold data both have their advantages but are defined by their differences. The benefits that come from separation have a big impact on the success of business operations.
Hot storage mediums are usually always online and network connected for quick and fast access.
Cold Storage mediums can consist of offline or offshore data storage for security and controlled accessibility.
A simple and effective hot storage medium can consist of something like a cloud data storage or, a local storage server.
you can purchase a cloud server from popular storage providers like AWS, Google or Azure.
If you plan to construct your own local enterprise storage server, take note it will require a lot of components and software to setup.
what's the difference between a local and online cloud host for data storage ?
Cold storage mediums are usually based on local storage mediums that are offline and not readily accessible.
Bulk data storage is usually done with cold storage mediums.
This would include storing data for long terms and aren't meant to be touched and modified.
Cold storage's are quite similar to local hot storage's, but differ by being offline most of the time.
Cold storage needs to be impermeable to data loss and corruption over long time periods.
Its typically driven by redundant disk arrays or RAID storage solutions to reduce possibilities in case of an awry situation.
| Parameters: | Hot Storage | Cold Storage |
| Access Speed | Fast | Slowest |
| Access Frequency | Regular | Rare/Very Less |
| Data Exchange Volume | High | Low |
| Storage Media | Standard hard drives, solid state drives, portable flash memory, easy-access cloud storage | Off-site archival cloud storage (Amazon Glacier, Google Coldline), unplugged & encrypted hard drives |
| Security | Lower | Higher (physical access required in some cases) |
| Cost | Highest | Low |
| Ideal User | Everyone (Enterprise or Personal Usage) | Enterprise or Personal with large backup data to be offloaded. |
Depending on your needs and use cases, a hot or cold storage system may or may not be applicable to you.
If you are looking for something that requires:
You might want to consider hot storage solutions that are online, or offline.
Otherwise cold storage options or maybe "warm" storage.
It is similar cold storage but exhibits the accessibility and available state of hot storage.
Just not as fast considering it is much more larger in comparison.
Thus if you are looking to create a hot or cold data storage for your data, consider between the options available and chose accordingly.
Not every business has the same needs, and different data has to be split in between hot and cold storage options.
the choice is based on the various parameters like ease of accessibility and size.
Webserver hosting comes in all sorts of sizes and shapes, depending on your needs you have to choose an optimal webserver that suits your organization.
Here's a list of the various types of Webserver hosting options:
Each one of these has its own variants, upsides and downside which we will list:
Dedicated webservers as described, they are a dedicated server maintained only for individual/personal organizations and nothing else.
They are single handedly the fastest and can handle more for the given resources compared to other offerings.
Dedicated webhosts have variations such as:
These dedicated webservers are quite simply the most basic webservers that are very lightweight and fast as they have no overhead
It's as simple as a dedicated computer, running a light OS, and hosting the webserver.
Virtual Host webservers are just like the aforementioned webservers, the catch being the hosting OS runs on top of a Hypervisor/Virtual Container.
This helps with maintenance of the system and control over the hosting system.
Bare Metal webservers are quite more cumbersome to deal with in maintenance situations.
Shared webservers in essence are servers that do shared tasks along with webhosting such as hosting other servers on the same system.
Since multiple tasks run on the same system, The resource usage is dynamically managed.
However if one task is in a state of using heavy resources it will affect other tasks.
Shared hosting can also be bare metal or virtually hosted.
VPS services essentially provides the same kind of experience as a dedicated host but are organized in the same way shared hosts do.
Your webserver will be hosted a on cloud with limited resources, but it has full control for maintenance and is given various protection services like anti-DDoS protection, etc.
VPS services provide peace of mind as it doesn't involve too much of the design process for a proper hosting setup.
Instead, it's a set it and forget it type of service.
For more detailed info about VPS services check here.
Hostinger is a popular VPS that offers this service.
Shared and Dedicated webhosts fall into more of a similar category of self-hosted webservers, whereas other services like VPS fall into the cloud-hosted/external hosting services.
If your organization doesn't have a complex need and just needs to host a simple static web page, external hosting might be a cheaper option.
Given the complexity and available resources, self-hosting might seem more reasonable.
If you expect less traffic but want to be able to manage the server on your own, consider self-hosting.
For larger commercial organizations, self-hosting again might seem more reasonable.
If you are a single individual or a smaller commercial business, cloud-hosted/external hosting is just much more feasible, considering network limitations as well.
In short, we were able to list down the various options for hosting a webserver for an Individual's needs.
may it be commercial or Individual.
When it comes to the internet, the underlying technologies and the parallels they form can be a bit confusing.
This post aims to resolve some correlation between those things and how they can relate to your service or business.
The most essential part of any network is identification. IP addresses (or) Internet Protocol Address provides this. The IP address lends us the ability to directly communicate with the end client or website.
However it's too hectic to remember all the IP address of a website we want to visit.
Hence we rely on human readable "domain" names to access them.
Domains are name tags that signify the underlying autonomy governing that part of the internet.
They consist of various parts such as:
The subdomain identifies what network the domain is a part of (mostly www or world-wide-web).
the domain name is the name we want our organization we want our domain to be associated with, such as google, youtube, facebook etc.
the top level domain is the identifier that correlates to what part of the internet our domain is a part of, such as .com (commercial), .edu (educational), .gov (government).
Domain names are managed by ICANN (or) Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.
Domains in essence are the ID tags of the internet that point people on the internet to our website, essentially an IP address that is mapped to a human readable link.
So how does our computer know what is the IP address of a given domain ?
That's where DNS comes into play.
DNS or Domain Name Service is a system that serves web users the IP address given the domain of the website they wish to connect with (like a phonebook).
Its consists of many components to look up a database of IP addresses and provide it to web user.
DNS servers are considered the backbone of the Internet.
They contain the database of every single website that one would want to access.
When you sign up for a domain names, your domain name and the IP address your website are given to a DNS server for caching.
When a person would like to access your website, the DNS server gives the IP address of your website so they can directly access it.
You don't need to communicate with a DNS server at all, your web browser takes care in handling that.
Some of the common DNS servers are 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare DNS), 8.8.8.8 (Google DNS) etc.
Note: your internet provider may also have their own DNS server too.
You can purchase a domain name from one of many domain name providers.
First you need to find out what domain you would like.
Then you need to look up the various providers to see if that domain is available for sale and if you can buy it.
Once you purchased your domain name, you can assign it to your website and when it goes live.
The IP address corresponding to your website will be given to the DNS server for look up.
Depending on your domain providers, you can also easily setup custom emails addresses for your service employees.
GoDaddy Has easy to use guide to setup email accounts with your custom domains.
For your website to be more accessible to others on the internet, its IP needs to be cached by a DNS server.
Since Google's DNS servers are very popular you can check if your website has been cached to it and is available to be looked up easily.
This is why SEO is important!
Making sure your SEO is optimal is the way to making sure your website reaches the masses perfectly.
In short,
If you host a webserver, a very important that its running optimally and is in proper conditioning.
Here is a small guide to various easy diagnostic tests you can check to see if you webserver is running up to grade.
Depending on your OS distribution running your webserver the installation methods may vary, However all the tools are all usually the same.
All of them can be invoked from the command line terminal or SSH shell, given that your webserver may be running on a remote system.
The tools include:
ping is a simple utility to see if your system is able to respond to systems on the network and check latency.
This comes pre-installed on almost every operating system.
A simple command to check if you are able to communicate with google DNS servers for example:
ping 8.8.8.8
Htop is a simple system utility to see system runtime stats like CPU usage, RAM usage, processes, etc. kind of like a task manager.
Install it on:
Ubuntu, and Debian derivatives:
sudo apt install htopFedora, OpenSUSE, and other RedHat derivatives:
sudo dnf install htopManjaro, and other Arch derivatives:
sudo pacman -S htopRun it with:
htop
uptime is a simple utility to see how long you system has been up and running for.
This comes pre-installed on almost every operating system.
Run it with:
uptime
nload is a utility to see how much network traffic passes through your system in terms of uploaded and downloaded bytes.
Install it on:
Ubuntu, and Debian derivatives:
sudo apt install nloadFedora, OpenSUSE, and other RedHat derivatives:
sudo dnf install nloadManjaro, and other Arch derivatives:
sudo pacman -S nloadRun it with:
nload(P.S pressing tab switches between network devices like ethernet and wifi to see how much traffic passed through each one)
If you are looking for a more overall system view, you might want to consider using glances.
Install it on:
Ubuntu, and Debian derivatives:
sudo apt install glancesFedora, OpenSUSE, and other RedHat derivatives:
sudo dnf install glancesManjaro, and other Arch derivatives:
sudo pacman -S glancesRun it with:
glances
Knowing these various parameters is all well and good, But one must know how to make use of them to analyze and troubleshoot issues with their webserver.
For example:
There are a lot of simple diagnostic tools for checking the server status. If you are looking for a graphical dashboard, consider using the cockpit-project.
Every year there is a cycle of release of brand-new personal computers with newer CPUs and graphics.
To keep up with the latest hardware we ought to buy brand new computers. Laptops and PCs are good for a solid 5 years for regular usage and 2-3 years for power users.
But what about your old computers? You could resell them, but maybe you want a extra PC laying around for other work, but don't want to spend more on a new computer.
An easy way is to clean up your old computer and use it as such, it's effective and cheap.
Here's a small guide on how you can do so:
This guide is mainly for two kinds of computers:
Note if your old computer is a Mac, this guide may not be applicable as Mac parts are non-replaceable. You might need to seek a professional technician to assist you.
Various tasks to look at when trying to up-cycle your old computer:
Most obviously you want to dust off your device a bit. Cleaning up your system can help reduce heat retention in the device and help make it run a bit faster and longer.
External cleaning can be done with a Dry cloth and some isopropyl alcohol.
Additionally, do not be tempted to use water, this can aid corrosion and possibly damage electronics with moisture.
As for internal cleaning, you will need some kind of duster, A plain dry paintbrush might do, canned air is probably better as you won't need to touch the electronics unnecessarily. However, note that each one has its disadvantages such as cleaning power and the ability to reach every nook and corner of the inside.
Other requirements include:
Cleaning it is as simple as opening it up and using your duster to clean our retaining dust.
Added, if you are technically capable enough, you could also replace the internal thermal paste, which is a substance used to facilitate the heat transfer between components and thermal system.
If your computer is older than 2 years, it is highly advisable to do this, or get it done by a professional technician. Old thermal paste can become dry and cakey and lead to overheating issues.
Depending on whether you have a laptop or a desktop, your upgradability can vary.
Laptops and Mini PCs mostly have soldered components, meaning they might not be replaceable. Typically, the more replaceable components would include the RAM and Storage.
Having a battery replacement might also be the way to go, to give your old computer an extra lease of life.
Check with your manufacturer's website or check iFixit: The Free Repair Manual for more info about your device.
Desktops are usually much more upgradeable, as you can change everything from the CPU, the GPU, RAM, Storage and every other kind of component easily.
Typically, if you have an old system that's older than say 3 years, consider replacing the Storage and add more RAM, if possible, as these can help your device keep up with more modern demanding software.
If you feel your CPU is getting slower, you can upgrade it and make sure your motherboard and other components are compatible.
You can take a look at buildmypc to check your components.
An important thing with old hardware is trying to get new software that has more features and optimizations compared to old versions.
But keep in mind, the newer the software releases, the more it is made for newer hardware in mind.
Things like OS driver updates etc. aid with stability and speed and help with battery life too.
If you have an older computer that you want to use for something more dedicated, you could go with a factory reset. This will clean the computer of all unnecessary things and keep it snappy.
If your computer feels sluggish, A new SSD with a fresh OS install will make it much faster.
Overall, it's completely possible to make use of your older computers by freshening them up with some software and hardware upgrades.
If you feel like you might not be technically proficient enough to do it on your own, consider giving it to a technician who might do everything needed for you without the hassle.
The concept of a car battery UPS is elementary. However, like most things, there are very advanced concepts at play that need to be taken care of.
Batteries are extremely dangerous and volatile. They need to be treated well and with respect when building any system that relies on them.
So, anyone who has looked into UPS systems for their computers, network equipment or servers, will know just how expensive these things are.
In this write-up, I will be using exclusively Ah and VA as units. There are many manufactures using all different kinds of units, and it all gets confusing. I find these 2 units are useful and listed more often than others on spec sheets.
It just is what it is, pretty much every single network rack in America is going to have either an APC or a Tripp-lite
That is because they simply do the job really well. I am not going to talk about the other brands much. Honestly, I would not touch them with a 10' pole. They are just too unreliable, and I have seen too many failures.
I am going to come at this from a professional's perspective. Where we have money to work with and need very reliable systems that adhere to building codes and are acceptable to other professional standards.
There are ways to cut corners and save a bit of money; however, this is not the goal.
The goal here is to build a system that, while saving money, is worthy of a production environment.
Create a UPS system that can power a heavy-duty network stack, a few servers and some PoE devices for an extended amount of time. Shooting for 8 hours. This will allow ample time to manually shut down equipment or deploy a generator.
This is the obvious first step. How much power do you actually need? More than that, what are your plans for the future?
I like to calculate the current VA load of the entire network system, then multiply it by 2 and then try to build a system for that. This way, we do not have to worry about adding some heavy-duty gear down the road.
Of course, if you have zero plans for expansion, then you can cut back, but still, I would leave at a minimum 25% headroom.
Also remember, when taking measurements of power draw, ensure you are using the full load numbers of the system. Do not simply take calculations based on what equipment is being used at the moment.
So, determining the maximum draw is easy, just look up the specs for all devices, add it up and then add 25% for transience spikes or any random spikes. That is the problem with a UPS, if something decides to go rogue, it will bring the whole system down, you cannot use multiple building circuits for a single UPS like you can with a bare system.
Once you have the load determined, you now need to figure out how long you want the UPS to hold up the system.
This gets a little tricky, as battery voltage comes into play, and we are still trying to determine what UPS and batteries to buy,
I use this calculator https://www.batteriesinaflash.com/battery-run-time-calculator
It helps to determine the requirements; however, you will have to understand the following:
Volts and amps... if we think of electricity as water then Volts can be thought of as the size of a water pipe, and Amps can be thought of as the pressure in the pipe.
So, if we need to move let's say 10 gallons of water an hour, if we use a small pipe (Volts), then we will have to have a higher pressure (Amps). The inverse is also true, we can reduce the Amps if we increase the Voltage.
With relation to our UPS system. Batteries are always at a lower voltage than 120v AC that comes out of your wall. So, while using the above calculator, you need to adjust the Amps for what will be being taken from the battery. An example, a 20VA load with a conservative Power factor of .6 at 120v is only around .15 Amps
However, at a 12v battery the current will be 10 times that, or 1.5 Amps.
Now this is a basic way to think about it and there is a lot more going on, but these concepts can be applied to create the goal of this article the car battery ups
The goal is to determine how many amps at how many battery volts your load requires, so we can buy a battery system with the appropriate Ah (amp hours)
Bottom line, figure out how many Amps your load takes at 120v and write it down, so we can see what voltage battery system is the best for this use.
There are 3 main voltage levels of battery systems. 12v and multiples of 12 so, 24, and then we skip to 48v
This is because 12v batteries are like the standard, I am not certain why, but that is what it is.
So, the more you need to step up the voltage, the more loss there is in the inverter. I know we like in the space age and all, but it is still very common for 20% losses in inverters. Of course, an inverter changes the battery's DC into AV at the same time increasing the voltage to 120v, so our computers can run off it.
Ironically computers themselves run off DC at voltages close to that of the batteries, we are actually turning low voltage DC into AC, then the computer power supplies are turning it back into low voltage DC. There are efficiency losses at every step of a not inconsiderable amount. But there is nothing we can do about that; it is what society has chosen to do.
What works is to keep the change as minimal as possible. This is why large systems are exclusively 48v where smaller ones are 24v, sometimes even 12v.
This comes at a cost, 48v inverters, and battery systems are just more expensive.
So, load will determine whether it is ok to use a 24v or 48v system. As well as budget.
I am just going to price/ part out a 24v system, as if you need a 48v system, chances are you have enough money to just buy everything off the shelf. However, everything here applies to all systems, 12v, 24v, & 48v
We need a UPS, not an inverter, not anything else on the market that is marketed for this task. A UPS is specifically designed to work with the many low current DC power adaptors that we will require to run.
Other devices on the market are meant to run singular devices and I have personally seen them fail when attempting to run loads at less than half their rating, but coming from many small computers at once.
In industry every device has what is called a "duty cycle" it refers to the amount of time the device can be run continually. This is often the only difference between a consumer device and an industrial one.
A lawn mower is a good example. A lawn mower designed for consumer use will expect just that, once or maybe twice a week use for a few hours. It will be able to do that well. However, if you were to put it in a professional law cutters garage, it would fail. It is simply not designed for a "full duty cycle" that the professional would be using it for.
The same is true for a UPS inverter, just slightly different. They designed the inverter to work with the capacity of the stock battery. If you attempt to run it for longer than the stock battery can, it can very well catch on fire or just fail.
To solve this, we need a UPS that is rated for "extended runtime" These are designed to allow the user to daisy-chain batteries and create insane amounts of runtime.
The cheapest and best units I have found are the following
Once you have found one of those units that suits your power requirements, we can move onto capacity.
Currently, the types of batteries commonly available are:
The cheapest option. Good ol' lead acid car battery's. However, for a UPS we absolutely need Deep Cycle cells. This will allow them to drain to almost 0 and then be recharged. If you try this with normal lead acid, they will literally fail after 3 or 4 runs to 0, that is unacceptable
SLA batteries are what comes with UPS systems. They are the same as normal lead acid, but they are sealed and always deep cycle. The sealed part is important, and not. Basically, when you charge a lead acid battery, some hydrogen has is released. Hydrogen gas... like that is used in hydrogen bombs. It is extremely explosive. So Sealed Lead Acid do not release any and thus are better for closed spaces.
However, non-sealed are not so dangerous because Hydrogen is so light, if you have any ventilation at all the Hydrogen will be quickly vented. It is not like Methane that is heavier than air and will pool on the bottom of the space.
Lithium-ion, the start of the 21st century. They are actually so incredible, the man who invented them won a Nobel Prize.
They are all deep cycle, they are high capacity, light weight and can do many more cycles before degradation than lead acid.
If you have the money, there is really no contest, Lithium-ion is the superior technology.
The crem de la crem of battery's currently is LiFePO4
They have all the benefits of Lithium-ion but offer even more cycles before degradation and are even lighter weight.
They will cost you nothing less than an arm and a leg, and a kidney, maybe even a cornea. So they will probably not be the choice for someone looking to save some money on a UPS system.
This is a very critical component you cannot skimp out on. It will be the veins of your system.
We need, between the batteries, very heavy gauge wiring. This is because batteries have unlimited current potential.
We need the batteries to act as a contiguous unit. The fuse will be in line between the main feed line to the ups and the batteries, between the batteries there will be no fuses, and thus the wire will be a sudo fuse, and we need it to not fail
We can use bus bars, instead of wire. However, for computer applications they are overkill. Simple 2 gauge or large wire is more than sufficient to make sure the wires will not get hot or fail.
That is really all there is to consider. I spared exact brands and details because you need to figure that out on your own. Remember, this system can kill you and those around you quickly. Batteries are not to be messed with if you do not have the experience to draw many of these conclusions yourself.
This was kind of a brain dump; however, it has been the culmination of over 2 years of trial and error, and research.
If you have any questions, just post them below!
Modern technology has bought us a variety of storage technologies. Evolving from magnetic media to super-fast solid-state drives with no moving parts.
Flash media has become the staple for storage options everywhere from mobile phones, to portable computers, to enterprise servers.
But not all flash storage is the same, let's see the difference:
Flash storage works on the principle of holding data with transistors, and keeps the data on the transistor in a non-volatile manner by holding the charge floating.
Electricity flows from the source to the drain. When data to be written, current is also applied at the control gate. This causes the electrons to get trapped in the floating gate.
For erasing, the control gate potential is reversed.
These transistors are used in combination to store larger amounts of more useful data.
The common technologies used are nand flash, which uses a combination of transistors that form a nand gate and store data on it.
Typically, 1 bit of data is present in a single data cell, this is termed SLC, or Single Layer Cell. but many more bits can be there in a single cell as well, such as MLC or Multi-Layer Cell (2 bits per cell).
TLC which is Triple Layer Cell (3 bits per cell), and QLC which is Quad Layer Cell (4 bits per cell).
Each one of these has a cost, as well as speed and durability factors.
From SLC to QLC the cost reduces, but so does the write speed and the durability.
Flash storage being solid state technology, has no moving parts and has none of the issues associated with things such as mechanical failure.
Flash storage comes in a variety:
SD or Secure Digital is a proprietary technology that utilizes Flash memory in a compact standard package that communicates to the host via SDIO (Secure Digital Input Output).
SD cards are cheap and reliable for long term storage. their speed of communication is dependent on the specific communication revision they are based on.
In increasing order of speed there is SD-HC, SD-XC, SD-UC, and the fastest SD cards can almost reach 1 GB/s.
A lot of the speed and various parameters depend on the spec of the SD card's protocol, you can find more info about the parameters here.
SD card's best applications include photography storage, some Industrial applications which use them as ROM storage.
SD cards have relatively average durability for a flash storage medium, usually using TLC flash which can be the reason for their overall lower write speeds. Best used for long period storage which doesn't involve writing to it often.
Multi-Media Card is a technology that is widely used for media storage. As of today, the most common form factor of MMC is eMMC or embedded MMC.
eMMC is a standard maintained by the JEDEC association
It's more durable than SD, and is much faster in comparison.
However, since it is soldered to the motherboard of the device, eMMC cannot be replaced by end users.
It's used in a number of places such as smartphones, tablets, portable computers etc., Mostly applications range from portable device storage as it has better read and write endurance.
There have been many improvements and successors when it comes to a compact flash storage module, one of which is UFS (Universal Flash Storage) which comes with greater improvements too such as faster read and write speeds.
eMMC has the advantage of having an integrated controller that can do things such as wear leveling, to make sure that memory corruption doesn't become prevalent with constant writing.
This does make them more durable than SD cards, but they are still not as durable over the long run.
Solid state drives are the flash memory-based counterpart of spinning hard drives (or) HDDs, they are very power efficient, have very high storage density.
There are many types of SSDs, mostly differentiated by their protocol of communication,
The main protocols include:
SATA SSDs use the older protocol that hard disks used for communicating with the CPU.
Modern SSDs are fast enough to saturate the bandwidth offered by that protocol.
These SSDs have all the features offered by flash storage technology, like longer endurance and high storage density, and are slightly more expensive typical hard disks.
These primarily target replacing hard disk drives.
PCIe SSDs are part of the NVMe standard or (Non-Volatile Memory express), which uses high bandwidth PCIe lanes on your computer and is the fastest storage option when it comes to SSDs.
Modern PCIe SSDs use around 2x PCIe Lanes, but their speed can vary depending on the flash used and the controller bottlenecks.
Some PCIe SSDs use some extra DDR memory for caching, (the same kind your PC has) to offer a boost to speeds.
Another speed deciding factor can be the variant of PCIe generation. PCIe Gen 4 is the current fastest generation that is widely prevalent. However, the cost of the technology has it yet to be accessible to everyone.
As of now PCIe gen 3 SSDs are the sweet spot as of now when it comes to fast SSDs and reasonable cost.
SSDs overall have the best endurance when it comes to any type of storage medium, and are the fastest when it comes to reading and writing.
There are a lot of storage devices that use flash technology, for example USB flash drives.
These are the most popular portable version of flash media, Used for mass exchange of offline data.
These come with the same kind of flash technology as SSDs but in a small form factor, and communicate in a different way.
Similar to an SSD, these flash drives operate based on what version of USB they use such as a slower USB 2.0 flash drives vs a much faster USB 3.0 flash drive (which can almost be as fast as a SATA SSD).
Another common thing to note about both SSDs and USB flash drives since they use similar technology, is that the durability is proportional to their storage size, so a 16 GB flash drive has 2x the Durability compared to an 8 GB flash drive.
Different flash media have their applications in various places, from handheld electronics to powerful data centers and home computers.
eMMC and UFS power mobile smartphones, and small laptops. SSDs power most laptops these days. They also have started to become more popular in the datacenter space for high storage density, and Low power consumption.
For the daily user, you will most likely look into having SSDs for large local storage. If you need a large amount of storage prioritizing over speed, you might want to look into purchasing SATA based SSDs.
If you need a fast disk for your personal computer or desktop, an NVMe PCIe gen 3 SSDs should be suitable and provide the speed needed.
In total, flash media is a technology that has had a warm welcome and has changed computer technology for the better.
making computers faster, more power efficient, and has more improvements for years to come.
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