2 replies to this topic

[TheCProject]

Hello guys, I'm a Computer Science from the Philippines and I'm under pressure of developing a system that would detect if peripheral devices(USB mouse/kb, PS/2 mouse/kb) and LAN connection is removed/unplugged from the system unit. The program would then tell the IT office(located one floor above the laboratory) that a device/internet connection is lost.


At a first look, it looks simple and easy. The problem is, i didn't have any background about signals or hardware. I could say that I'm very proficient with programming languages and developing software applications.

I'm currently looking for some ideas or opinions, maybe some useful tips and tricks to get this thing done. And so I could graduate and receive my Undergraduate degree.


I'm looking forward for your great cooperation. Any ideas and suggestions are welcome, please feel free to post. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

[shadowx]

The computer system already generates alerts when hardware is unplugged or when a network connection goes down, there is no need to re-invent the wheel.

Every system has an error log, those on linux are easy to read, they are just .log files i believe. Windows could be more tricky but all you need to do is watch the error logs with your program, when an event is detected a message is sent.

You will not be able to use such a system to detect network failure however, since if the network is unplugged your message has no route to the IT office. For that you would need to monitor the network and perhaps PING a workstation every few seconds to check connectivity, depending on the size of the environment this could cause massive traffic on the network,

The only other option is to cache the error in your program and wait until the network is plugged back in and THEN send the error message up.

[TheCProject]

Thanks for the tip shadowx. But I have a question. Is it possible for a Vb.Net application to access Windows Error Logs? I think I'm asking for too much. But could you give me a sample or at least links to tutorials that may help me achieve the purpose.

Oh, I've created a simple server and multiple clients application, all that is missing is the data to be transferred(notifications that peripheral devices are unplugged etc.)

Hope you could help me more.
Thanks a lot man.