[plug] Unattended reset of ADSL modem

[Steve Boak]

On Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:11:08 am Patrick Coleman wrote:
> On Tue, Feb 17, 2009 at 9:47 AM, Steve Boak <sboak at westnet.com.au> wrote:
> > My question is, how is this sort of problem handled in the commercial
> > world where this type of downtime would be intolerable?
>
> Write a script that restarts the modem/web server/critical storage
> system every 5 minutes. Problem solved!

I hope you're kidding with a 5 minutes cycle! Considering the boot/recovery 
time, it would be a horror to use :-)

> You could make a little watchdog device that trips a relay if it can't
> ping out and resets the modem - just interface the relay to the
> parallel port of a computer and write a script to do the pinging and
> resetting.

I was thinking of part of these two suggestions - a ping watchdog, and a soft 
reset of the modem via it's web control page which is always accessible on 
the LAN. It's only the external ADSL connection that drops out or locks up.

> Alternatively, I've noticed that my modem isn't very tolerant of bad
> power; a thunderstorm nearby can make it lock up. Have you tried
> sticking it on a dual-conversion UPS or similar?

The modem is on a UPS with the server, but you may be correct with the power 
supply issue. I don't remember any power glitches or thunderstorms at the 
time though. We have definitely had issues with Telstra work in the town 
forcing everyone to reset their ADSL modems.

I have been thinking of upgrading the UPS for the system to be totally 
independent, running a solar panel, charger, big battery and inverter. Just 
haven't got there yet :-)

Steve