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Date:      Thu, 9 Oct 2008 03:45:40 +1100
From:      andrew clarke <mail@ozzmosis.com>
To:        Jeremy Chadwick <koitsu@FreeBSD.org>
Cc:        freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org
Subject:   Re: uptime 2 years!
Message-ID:  <20081008164540.GA78500@ozzmosis.com>
In-Reply-To: <20081008162153.GA80866@icarus.home.lan>
References:  <DAC3662D-4B24-4986-87C3-7113A070A575@ahm-inc.com> <20081008162153.GA80866@icarus.home.lan>

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On Wed 2008-10-08 09:21:53 UTC-0700, Jeremy Chadwick (koitsu@FreeBSD.org) wrote:

> I don't want to rain on your parade, but uptime ultimately means squat.

Agreed.

> I can install FreeBSD on a box under my desk at home, on a UPS, and
> leave it powered on for the next 30 years -- it tells people absolutely
> nothing about the reliability of the OS, or what kind of stress it's
> undergone during that time.

I'd be impressed if an ordinary PC lasted 30 years continuously
running.  Even if the HDD is solid-state you still have to think about
other moving parts, particularly the CPU and PSU cooling fans.  I've
had a bad run with PSU fans recently.

Is FreeBSD 7.1 2038-proof?  ;-)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2038_problem

(I wonder what version of FreeBSD will be the latest in 2038?)

> Additionally, long uptimes also reflect directly on sysadmins: I take it
> to mean "the administrator is very lazy".  There are security holes
> (kernel or userland/library-level) which are exploitable on boxes which
> have been up for that kind of time.  I'm also making the assumption that
> said boxes have Internet connectivity, hence my point.

Yes, my initial thought was "what, you don't use freebsd-update?".

Regards
Andrew



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