Watchdog Timers

NetDAS will soon offer NetDAS Watchdog (WD), a timer option to enhance reliability. A WD timer is a circuit that monitors a signal which under normal operation changes state periodically, usually every few seconds. If this signal stops the WD cycles power to the entire system. This cold reboot is almost always is enough to clear the fault and restore normal system operation. Faults can be caused by static, memory overflow, an obscure program bug, a USB synch error, to name the most common.

In a properly designed system faults occur very rarely so the WD is often the only realistic solution. The WD signal is also available externally so other systems may also be rebooted.
NetDAS Watchdog can also be used standalone (without NetDAS).

What is an embedded system?

NetDAS is offered in three operating system versions: embedded Linux, Windows (NetDAS/Windows) and Ubuntu Linux (NetDAS Ubuntu Linux). Embedded systems run "headless" which means they usually do not have a display, keyboard or mouse. Embedded systems are often controlled over the LAN or Internet or with a laptop connected to an Ethernet port. For remote unattended systems NetDAS is the best choice. For systems in the lab a rack-mount system with its own display, keyboard and mouse is often more convenient.