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Reviews (10)
Feb 18, 2025
I have lots of IoT smart plugs, but Belk...
I have lots of IoT smart plugs, but Belkin WeMo smart plugs are unique. You can setup the WeMo network so you can trigger these from WeMo switches by the long press (look it up). A+
Jan 22, 2017
Cheap Linux Clusters
Fifteen years ago I was helping design PC clusters at the national computer center in San Diego. Linux running Oscar was all the rage and having your own small cluster to work with was much nicer than using the big iron. Many of us were setting up small clusters around the Sony Playstation 2. Fifteen years later I decided to renew my interest in small clusters and picked up a dozen HP T5730s to play with. Turning a thin client into a full fledged linux workstation is very easy with this small platform, especially if you upgrade the typical 1gig stick for this 2gig one. Not that you HAVE to be running 2gig per cluster client, but it gives each client a little more breathing room for number crunching. I have been running 6 clients for the last 2 to 3 years without any problems. Upgrading the memory gives each client enough room that you are not constrained if you have to pull 1 client from the group and do any upgrades to it. Great platform, great memory. I rarely ever light my Dell Precision workstations anymore due to this arrangement. Give it a try if you are linux savy, you can't go wrong.
May 25, 2021
One Litre SBC Quad Core Thin Clients (HP Specific).
Mine would not be the normal review for such a machine, but you'll get the picture. I have 3 different computer clusters based on HP Thin Clients. The older T5730's (single core), the T610's (dual core) and now some T620's (quad core). I am also using T620's (dual core) as my daily drivers (3 on my desktop). For low power, no fans, no noise, very little heat (no moving parts) these were much more economical for me than setting up a rack with Dell PowerEdge servers (which I have done in the past for work projects). I like the compact size and the ability to take them apart without any tools. Expect to replace CR2032 batteries on many of these older thin clients as the odds are they have not been replaced before. This is where the T620 is a pain as (unlike the other thin clients I've mentioned) the T620 does not use a built in socket to hold the BIOS battery (and so they are kind of hard to find on the internet). These SBC motherboards also have a tendency to randomly fry the sound devices (I have 2 T620's with dead sound devices. One on an older T620 which died while I was using it, and one on a T620 that I just received). As I am using these for MPICH, Kubernetes and other systems emulation clusters, this is not an issue for me, but don't expect the sound device to last long if you are using it on the desktop. Below is a photo of my T5730 cluster in the back. T610 cluster in the front (T620 cluster yet to be implemented).