Stephan Paukner :: syslog

For the usage of a local backup host, I defined the following scenario, which could also be used for a printer server or any other type of host, which shouldn’t run 24/7, but:

• The host should be able to be woken up manually by a special signal on the LAN, i.e., it should be capable of WOL. (This is only a hardware issue)
• If it is woken up, it should run at least for 30 minutes before trying to shutdown again.
• It shouldn’t shut down while certain processes are running, such as a backup, i.e., it should be capable of a shutdown-lock. If the lock is removed, it might shutdown.
• The host shouldn’t shut down as long as a certain client, e.g. a backup client, is (still) up and running (pingable)
• If the criteria above aren’t hurt, the host should finally shut down.

And here’s the shell-script which implements the above. It’s enough to have it run every five minutes. The “echoes” are only interesting for debugging purposes.

Besides my plan for buying a DSLR after finishing my study in spring 2007, I renew my property of a compact digital camera. After my first one, a Canon PowerShot A70 at Christmas 2003, I went over to the Canon Digital IXUS 750 last February, as I wanted to have a more compact camera, which I also could take easily with me on a bike-tour. But I soon noticed that it had to be categorized as a style camera and I was soon missing the enhanced possibilities for photographing, such as time-automatic or aperture-automatic, which now lead me to selling the IXUS at eBay and planning to buy the new Canon PowerShot A710 IS. This is a not-so-compact model again, but—to debilitate the compactness criteria—it won’t waste too much space in my bike-saddle bag anyway if I just wrap it in a plastic bag. What I get is a twice as high zoom (6x instead of 3x) and the very Image Stabilizer for high focal-lengths or long exposures.