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Linux webserver uptime.

seanbranagh
Grafter
Posts: 1,236
Registered: ‎02-08-2007

Linux webserver uptime.

I have never kept check on it before and was often restarting for various reasons with my Linux webserver. After installing phpsysinfo a while back I decided to see how long it would stay up without issue. I know whith Linux this should be a very long time but the server became completely unreachable yesterday on the 51st day. After a power cycle it is running fine again. What may have caused this? The hardware is very old and the capicators on the board are starting to bulge a little so I am thinking this may have something to do with it. That was the death of my Windows server some time ago.
Specs:
Centos 4.7, Apache, Webmin Proftp etc etc
Dual PIII 1Ghz
768Mb SDRAM
Dual 2 Gb IDE HDD
4Gb IDE HDD
80GB IDE HDD
12 REPLIES 12
zubel
Community Veteran
Posts: 3,793
Thanks: 4
Registered: ‎08-06-2007

Re: Linux webserver uptime.

Firstly, check /var/log/messages for any clues.
If there are no clues there, then it's likely a hardware problem.
B.
SteveA
Pro
Posts: 1,847
Thanks: 106
Fixes: 3
Registered: ‎17-06-2007

Re: Linux webserver uptime.

My old server just got unreliable, but it was cobbled together from odd and sods. It never failed any tests that I ran on it but it would just either become non-responsive or would reboot at random.
New box has been up for 81 days and 14 hours
chillypenguin
Grafter
Posts: 4,729
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: Linux webserver uptime.

I have know Sun Solaris stuff to to over 3 years between rebooots.
zubel
Community Veteran
Posts: 3,793
Thanks: 4
Registered: ‎08-06-2007

Re: Linux webserver uptime.

I think my own personal record for a Linux box was a little over a year - and the only reason that we had to power it off was because we had to re-rack it in a different rack.
Currently, my colo server is showing 206 days uptime Smiley
B.
Ben_Brown
Grafter
Posts: 2,839
Registered: ‎13-06-2007

Re: Linux webserver uptime.

I used to be crazy about uptime, I once had a NetBSD box that was up for 288 days before the power supply blew up. These days I'm more concerned with keeping boxes patched and up to date than having them up forever.
And re: Chilly, Solaris is a hardened OS and is tested to destruction so it is pretty damn solid. Add that to the high quality hardware Sun uses in it's kit (especially the SPARC stuff) and it becomes pretty bombproof. Nothings perfect though and we do occasionally get hardware failures, although the vast majority of these are disks which get stressed a fair bit.
SteveA
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Registered: ‎17-06-2007

Re: Linux webserver uptime.

The 64 bit linux cluster running Oracle 10g RAC with a 16GB SGA at my last job had an average node up time of over a year when I left, and we'd added a node into it about 6 months earlier.
I'm often surprised at how long "cheap" servers made up from off the shelf parts from Maplin actually stay up
dvorak
Moderator
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Registered: ‎11-01-2008

Re: Linux webserver uptime.

Sometimes my Windows server can go for 3 whole hours without needing a restart  Roll_eyes  Wink
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chillypenguin
Grafter
Posts: 4,729
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: Linux webserver uptime.

@Ben
That's why we use it, peoples lives quite literally depend on it!
We have seen a few power supply failures over the years, (early Ultra5's), but an occasional vacuum, works wonders. But then I guess your stuff is in a nice dust free data centre.
SteveA
Pro
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Registered: ‎17-06-2007

Re: Linux webserver uptime.

Mine isn't. it sits in the corner of the living room and collects cat fluff. The previous one lived under the stairs in a cupboard it shared with the breakfast cereals and tinned goods.
VileReynard
Hero
Posts: 12,616
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Registered: ‎01-09-2007

Re: Linux webserver uptime.

My Linux desktop had a few days of downtime, recently. Cry Cry
I mainly blame a cheap (defective) 68 conductor cable connecting my 72GB SCSI drive with the HBA.
So I (reluctantly) parted with about £80 for a 1TB SATA drive which rotates at half the speed - although it's slightly quieter.
I now have a drive that has 85% unallocated space - the whole situation is ridiculous.
When I started work, we had a mainframe that filled a room and had two 30MByte exchangeable disk units - each one bigger than my washing machine.

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Denzil
Grafter
Posts: 1,733
Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Linux webserver uptime.

And I'll bet at the time you thought you would never fill those up Cheesy
VileReynard
Hero
Posts: 12,616
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Registered: ‎01-09-2007

Re: Linux webserver uptime.

No - we actually filled them up and had to upgrade to a pair of 60MByte washing machines Cheesy
adie:quote

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