UPDATE REQ - Preventing Server Lag-Part 3: Machine Kill Switches

, Mon Oct 08 2012, 11:26AM

Even with all precautions taken in the previous two guides, There is still an opportunity for failure.

Because of this, Broonie has now introduced a rule where we must turn off our machines when we log out.

A simple, single killswitch to turn off all your machines makes for a quick and easy log out. You also need to make this easy for others to turn off too.

Others may need to turn your system off because you may have suffered power outage or internet disconnect. With the new rules, it will also save you from having a wire pulled by a mod, so it's a good idea to have your killswitch outside your building for easy access, should something go wrong:





Having your killswitch on a single wireless frequency makes things even easier, as yourself and Mods will be able to remotely shut things down if framerates get so bad that they can't reach the lever.

In the above image, the transmitter pulses a redstone signal on frequency 999 when the button is pushed.

The signal is then sent to all chunks loaded on the server no matter where they are. This means you can have quarries running miles away and not have to walk to them to manually turn them off.

This is my Solar Powered Quarry using an Energy Link:



combined with an item teleport pipe this would make for a completely remote quarry system that i wont need to visit again until it's finished.

Here's the killswitch in detail:



When placing the Toggle Latch, if it's not facing the right way, right click with a screwdriver until one torch is sideways on to the Energy Link. place the Wireless Receiver on the side with the lever and orient it so the redstone line points towards the lever. now right click the Toggle Latch (with bare hands) and you can manually set the default position. For Energy Links, you want the default position to be as the image, with the redstone torch lit on the opposite side to the Energy Link. When the wireless redstone signal is sent, this latch will trip, turning off the energy link and cutting power to the quarry. The reason for the latch is it will remember its state between server restarts, so if it was tripped before a server restart or crash, it will remain tripped. Only having the wireless receiver would trip it momentarily not permanently, so the latch is necessary.

If you are powering your quarry with Buildcraft Engines, the default position for the Toggle Latch should be reversed, like this:




The same can be done with Fillers:



and also MFE's MFSU's, Batboxes, and even transformers to turn off your macerators, compressors etc almost instantly.



Oh! and lastly, don't forget to give your KillSwitch Frequency an appropriate name, so we know what signal to kill should there be a problem: