OT: Lowest-power small server solutions

[Allison]

>
>Subject: Re: OT:  Lowest-power small server solutions
>   From: Scott Stevens <chenmel at earthlink.net>
>   Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2005 18:01:50 -0500
>     To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
>
>On Wed, 02 Nov 2005 12:10:56 -0500
>Allison <ajp166 at bellatlantic.net> wrote:
>
>> >
>> >Subject: Re: OT:  Lowest-power small server solutions
>> >   From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com>
>> >   Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2005 08:42:40 -0800
>> >     To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
>> >
>> >On 11/1/2005 at 8:38 PM Scott Stevens wrote:
>> >
>> >>Any suggestions of a better battery (cheaper, mostly) to 'strap on' to Sun
>> >>NVRAMs?  I am going to use AAA lithiums on this machine, which should last
>> >>forever, but they're a bit pricey.
>> >
>> >Why not just some plain old AA alkalines?  You should get a couple of years
>> >(i.e. shelf life)out of each set.
>> >
>> >--Chuck
>> >
>> 
>> Why not use a 2032 3V lithium coin cell?  They are cheap and small too.
>> For that backup use they should last years.
>> 
>> Allison
>That's probably what I should do.  I even have a number of scrap motherboards with the 2032 size battery holder on them.  That will superglue nicely on top of the NVRAM module.
>
>It's a bother reprogramming the NVRAM contents (you lose the MAC address, etc.) and I want a quasi-permanent solution, which the bigger AAA batteries represents.  But it gets expensive putting a $5 pair of AAA lithium batteries in each machine when you have a lot of Sparcs.  (the NVRAM FAQ says "it's best just to spend the $20 on a new NVRAM," but that's from an era when these Sun boxes were Big Bux and people didn't have a pile of them to maintain.  $20 multipies out to a big number here, and just buying another 48c02 module sets me up for another $20 sooner than I'd want)
>
>Backup batteries in general is a topic worth pondering with 'vintage' computer hardware. 
>

I've done the DS1287 replace the battery gig more than a few times on PCs.
A 2032 will outlast the original by many years. The real trick is having a 
copy of the CMOS contents on other than the affected system just in case.

Allison