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R2-D2 Monitors Your Web Servers
1sockchuck writes "What happens when you hire Star Wars enthusiasts as the system admins for your data center? You end up with the R2-D2 server monitoring system. The staff at Japan's Syun (only if you read Japanese) have converted an R2-D2 DVD projector into a Nagios-based server monitoring system that alerts them whenever a server goes offline." Say what you will, but that's a lot harder to ignore than a beeper.
is going to sue.
The site is getting hammered by slashdot but the entire article is basically just this youtube video so go here if and when the site dies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15rUkIJ25EE
Help me, DBA Server Geek...
You're my only hope.
Have you ever seen a network administrator RUN to fix a problem? I think not.
Sigh, it was funnier in the movies.
If each mistake being made is a new one, then progress is being made.
These are not the droids your looking for.
What happens when you hire Star Wars enthusiasts as the system admins for your data center? What, there is a different type of sysadmin we don't know about ?
And what monitors R2-D2 ?
Say what you will, but that's a lot harder to ignore than a beeper.
Yeah, but it's not as hard to ignore as the Chewbacca Server Monitor, who comes in and rips your arms off if you don't fix the problem.
The enemies of Democracy are
from their website http://www.robob.nl/
Robob is a robot that can be controlled trough the internet. By logging in, Robob becomes your physical avatar. Robob can be disguised as anything: a puppet on a bar chair or a hitchhiking Furby.
Robob is a telepresence project. It works by adding speech and recognizable humanoid features to a webcam. By optimizing the web interface it becomes possible to put your soul in Robob. You are Robob.
In the future we want to make a Robob network. The aim is to make it possible to see and speak to the world without travelling. We will publish a Linux startup cdrom with the Robob software. Everybody will be able to make a personal Robob with an old computer. All Robobs will be available though one portal.
"Kill 'em all and let Root sort 'em out"
...I can get one that will go on site, and zap the (l)user if the problem does, in fact, exist BCAK. And then set their cubicle on fire using its tiny rockets.
Very cool bit of kit, shame it seems to be dead now. Highly scriptable too.
Deleted
Is this news? Why do stories like this even make it on /.? This is the nerd equivalent of celebrity watch on the evening news.
If I make a video about a robot that wipes my ass for me and hums a jaunty toon, will that get posted here too?
Meesa bein' muy muy worried about da servers.
...what'd *really* be cool would be a Dalek server.
Provided it was capable of saying "Exterminate" in a harsh metallic voice and had real death rays for those troublesome cases of PEBKAC.
Actually, forget the server bit, you just want a Dalek, full stop.
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
The only problem I see is that it would take a while for the projector to warm up.
Now if they made this thing capable of walking up and using a telescoping robotic arm to replace the cable, then they would have something. VPN from 200 miles away and direct this thing to do physical layer stuff for you. That would be awesome.
Still pretty nifty in a dog-and-pony show way.
My Japanese-fu is weak, but near the bottom of the original Japanese article: "Thanks to this [R2D2], we have become able to happily look forward to the occurrence of server trouble."
What? I don't care if you destroy Alderaan every time an error occurs, I will not happily look forward to it. Also, is it just me or is Japan the only country that will legitimately allow a business news posting to have smilies in it?
Uncle Owen, this blade server has a bad motivator unit.....
C3PO is running marketing.
Have gnu, will travel.
My workstation loudly plays various audio clips and emails me the status from the syslog server.
Power issues: "I just canna dooooo it captain, I just DON'T HAVE THE POWERRRRR!" (spoken as Scotty)
Load average on any server reaching 15 times the number of CPUs:: "Shut 'er down, Clancy! She's pumpin' mud!" (Spoken with an Oklahoman twang)
User reaching disk quota: " [username, pulled from voicemail system] is looking at porn!" (my voice)
Overheating: "Coolant Leak! Coolant leak, everybody! We need to eject the warp core!" (Geordi LaForge)
Whenever an unfriendly client triggers the IDS: "Do you expect me to talk? No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!" (you can figure that one out for yourselves...)
You couldn't have chosen a better name perhaps? RoBob reminds me of Microsoft Bob.
I saw the Sign, and it opened up my eyes
Almost makes me wish I were still a sysadmin and still had server alerts to set up that way. Almost.
It's all about the information. And what we do with it.
Was I the only one who noticed that when explaining the system, at 00:50-01:02 in the video, the translation reads: "These are purchased by a prize of the Windows Vista gadgets competition"?
So, the prize money from a Windows competition went to buy a Linux box, R2-D2 projector, etc?
Love it.
http://www.justworksnh.com
Given how geekdom runs in family, I bet half of the /.ers have been born in a server room. I *actually* was.
(Printout listings make a comfortable bed, apparently)
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
Except that I use various death sounds from classic video games for when things blow up. Just as I am typing this, Mario got hit by barrel from Donkey Kong. Back to work...
So in other words, it's not 3-d?