Image transfer in the Obs

[pmrid]

I have 2 scopes/piers in my Obs. Each run by its own computer. Each runs Windows 7 and uses MaximDL 6 for image capture. I have a 3rd computer I use in the Obs when the other 2 are busy with doing their respective things. I plan to use #3 to manage images from both #1 and #2 and to allow me to do a bit of processing without having to interrupt/overload the other 2.

I have an external 2TB HD on #3 which I plan to use for the image storing from #1 and #2 and for image processing.

I'd like to explore ways of getting the images from #1 and #2 across to #3. Currently I have been waiting until the imaging runs are finished and then use a USB stick to do that but this process has several obvious shortcomings.

I don't have any networking running inside the Obs. Currently each machine is entirely on its' own. I am hoping there is a way of doing this which does not involve networking. But not being as switched on with this sort of thing as I once was, I turn to wiser heads for advice.

Peter

[RickS]

G'day Peter,

If sneaker net isn't doing it for you I'm afraid there's no option apart from some form of networking.

I'm not that au fait with options for ad hoc Windows networking. I'd go for the tried and true cheap router with DHCP server and minimal set up on the client PCs. A nice alternative might be to use a small NAS box. That will offer a degree of data protection as well.

Cheers,
Rick.

[pmrid]

Thanks Rick. Is this what you have in mind for a small NAS box Synology DS115J 1 Bay?

Peter

[RickS]

Hi Peter,

That would work but I'd personally prefer something with at least two drives so you can mirror the data and one drive failing isn't a catastrophe.

Cheers,
Rick.

[The_bluester]

I would actually look at both, a cheapish router with at least 6 ports (and make sure it is GigE not 100meg) and a nas, 2 bay minimum so you can mirror it for some data protection.

Then jump into the router configuration and put everything on a static IP address. That would make mounting a share on the NAS as a network drive on all three machines easy, you can then set the PC's up to save directly onto the NAS, where you can fish the images off from the third to do what you want with.

I am doing something like that at the moment playing around with practice timelapses, a laptop running Backyard EOS is writing the images direct to my NAS as they are taken (And I use Teamviewer to do anything required on the remote machine) so I can look at the images from inside the house where it is warm! I am hoping to do a bit more remote work and hopefully have the imaging laptop inside the house running remote USB ports shared form a Raspberry Pi at the camera end. What I am doing now demands a wired ethernet connection, sharing USB ports will be even more demanding, hopefully the network speed out there is enough as my current lead length is limiting it to 100meg.

[pmrid]

Thanks Paul and Rick. I'm going to have a play with the Router/NAS combo. I had hoped I could just make use of a RockStor 5411D device I already have in lieu of a dedicated NAS. I'll try that first and see where that takes me.
Peter

[glend]

Peter just where is this observatory? If it's in your backyard then Teamviewer gives you a tremendous tool at no cost. I just use a single Acer laptop in the obs, linked via Teamviewer to a little HP Stream in the house for monitoring and remote control if needed. Generally it all runs without interference, as i use SGP to manage the imaging activity sequence, including alerting me if needed. When the evening session is over the Acer comes back in the house to become the processing platform, and files, once processed, are moved onto an external 3TB drive.
Keep it simple, and make sure you have updates turned off at all times.

[pmrid]

G'day Glen.
The Obs is about 200 meters away from the house. I had once had a pair of dishes - one on the Obs feeding into a Router and an Access Point - to which each computer was connected. And in the house, the second dish connected back to the wireless router. The router connection was actually connected to one of the two antennae on the router. It wasn't hooked into any Ethernet cables so the dish just amounted to an external antenna for that router and so it sent and received to/from the setup in the Obs. Then the house router died and I was too cheap to buy a new one. Instead, I went back to the good old LinkSys router I'd had sitting in the back of the cupboard. Of course, it had no external antennae. So the Obs gear became a bit redundant. I could always revitalize all that gear but I'd like to find a simpler way if I could.

I realize that is asking a bit much, and I kinda know that I'm going to have to go back to the good old system. BUt I just hoped .....

sniff

Peter

[billdan]

When I was in computer sales 10 years ago, we used to sell 240V powerline ethernet adapters. These provided 5Mbs data transfer as long as each device is on the same phase. They were great for providing internet to remote sheds that had 240V power.

There are a few companies still providing these adapters. This is a link to the Jaycar version that does 500Mbs data transfer.

https://www.jaycar.com.au/powerline-ethernet-adaptor-kit/p/YN8355?utm_campaign=redirect&utm_source=YN8352r&utm_medium=web

Cheers
Bill

[Merlin66]

Until I saw the comment:
The Obs is about 200 meters away from the house

I was going to suggest a CAT5 cable between the home office and the observatory and Teamviewer transfer.
That's what I do from my observatory laptop with spectral images, but the distance is only about 15 mtr.

[Merlin66]

Bill,
those powerline ethernet adapters are very good (if the electrical circuit allows)
We had "issues" in Belgium with the rented property and they wouldn't allow me to run cabling....the use of powerline adaptors was our salvation.
They worked very well for us.

[redbeard]

QUOTE2 When I was in computer sales 10 years ago, we used to sell 240V powerline ethernet adapters. These provided 5Mbs data transfer as long as each device is on the same phase. They were great for providing internet to remote sheds that had 240V power.

There are a few companies still providing these adapters. This is a link to the Jaycar version that does 500Mbs data transfer.

https://www.jaycar.com.au/powerline-...utm_medium=web

Cheers
Bill
====


Ditto the 2 above posts - should get the job done.

Cheers,
Damien.

[pmrid]

Those ethernet-over-powerline adapters are great. I use them in the house. But they don't allow you to do file transfers between computers - at least I don't think so.

I just tried connecting all 3 Obs computers to a Switch. I made sure I had sharing on, on each computer, and made sure that each one was discoverable. The computers saw one another OK. But I couldn't actually connect to any of them. That's a 2/5 result so far.

Two of them did not see the RockStor device I also connected to the Switch although the third one did. I don't know why one and not the others.

I need a clever 10 year-old to come out and sort me out I think.

Peter

[billdan]

Its been a long time since I was in the computer game.

If I remember correctly, the default for each PC is to obtain an IP address from a DHCP server which is built into your modem/router.
So if you are connecting the 3 PC's to a switch only you will have to setup a static IP address for each computer (in Network properties) such as 192.168.0.1 etc and a subnet mask of 256.256.256.0.

Then from a DOS prompt you should be able to ping those IP addresses and get a reply that a connection is made.

If successful then Remote Desktop or Teamviewer should be able to transfer files from PC to PC.

I'll ask my son when he comes home, he is still involved in computer service.

[glend]

It certainly has been a long time. A DOS prompt, now that takes me back ....to when i used to drive around to HCF branches with a bunch of hard drives the size of a shoe box to install branch controller updates. Could not do anything remotely over 9600bps multidrop lines.
Ah i miss it...;)

[billdan]

Good on ya Glen,

I used to work for Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in the 1970's and a 300Mb hard drive was the size of a washing machine and we used to boot up the computer (PDP 11/70) with a paper tape reader.

[The_bluester]

Don't worry about setting static IP addresses on the machines themselves, just leave them using DHCP and set up all the addresses in the router. That makes it a simple browser job to do it and a reboot of the machine that has just had a fixed address assigned in the router.

I don't know if you would get 200M out of EOP adapters, I had them out to my shed (About 100M by wire) and the link was slow and unreliable. I ended up putting a CAT5E link over to it. Soon to be upgraded to a fibre link.

[pmrid]

Well, I am certainly not going to go down the TeamViewer road. I've just uninstalled it instead after reading reports of the program having been hacked and serious losses experienced by people having PayPal and other accounts drained or used to buy stuff.

Peter

[glend]

I am pretty sure it can be used directly within your wifi network without going out and back on the Net. If your wifi network is secure you should not have a problem. I have used it for a couple of years without any problems.
Care to share the source of your information?

There is a good tutorial here:

https://www.howtogeek.com/257376/how-to-lock-down-teamviewer-for-more-secure-remote-access/

that explains how to secure Teamviewer. As with all security, if you don't use the features and settings you cannot expect protection.

[pmrid]

Well, there's a lot, a particularly good one on YouTube but this BBC report is a start:

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36459015

Just Google TeamViewer and hacked.

Peter

[The_bluester]

They did have accounts compromised, I don't have an account as I use it locally only.

There is a setting in there along the lines of "Accept local connections exclusively" which allows login via your local LAN only via the remote machines IP address and a password you set up on the machine in question. You need to register an account if you want to use it over the internet.

[Merlin66]

I, like Paul, only use the local version.....
I think any current user would be OK - that hack goes back to June 2016.

[pmrid]

There's no hack like an old hack! :lol:
Peter

[The_bluester]

Yup! I am rapidly becoming one myself...

I am not concerned about the Teamviewer hack (By my understanding it was not a hack of Teamviewer, but a hack of other services which got them user names and passwords) If I don't have an account they can't get my details to get in, someone has to actually hack the Teamviewer software itself to get control of my PC.

[Octane]

I love being able to lie in bed and use my iPhone to view my observatory computer.

Also, Teamviewer now runs on Raspbian Jessie which is excellent, too.

H

[redbeard]

Hi Peter,

The ethernet-over-powerline adapters have to allow data/file transfer, that's what they do, they simply stream the data over the network.

Cable ethernet, wi-fi and the ethernet-over-powerline adapters all do exactly the same thing. Just different methods.

The issue I think, is the operating system and security as to why you can't transfer files.

You need to have the same user accounts on all machines, and that same account also needs the same password on all machines. Once that is done, then setup sharing and all should work fine.

Cheers,

Damien.

[pmrid]

OK. Thanks for that. I'll see whether I can use that in the Obs as a way of getting around the bottleneck. I can't use it between Obs and house because they're on different switchboards altogether. Pity.
I'll report back on this. It's interesting as well as a bit challenging for me. I was once very computer literate but systems have overtaken me and now, I'm back among the Luddites.

Peter