alt Hacker NewsWhen you think about it, 24 years is not such a long time for a machine to keep doing what it's supposed to be doing. It says something about our profession that we find a 24-year service life surprising.
There are airliners that have been in service for over 50 years.
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You raised in my mind that we are looking at this all wrong, the server is not actually one component, it’s really a system of systems, and just like an airliner is a system of systems too, the conflict arises in that the comparison is at the wrong level.
It seems when people think of a server today, they think of a single computer, if not some software server somewhere in the cloud. These subject kinds of servers are far closer to complex systems of separate components, more like a network system, it’s why components of what are really separate networked computers can and need to be replaced.
An airliner is of course also made up of components that are also systems, however at least in my mind, the difference is the actual expected use case. An airliner is not a good comparison because it is never expected to remain in continuous operation, e.g., that at least one engine is always running even when it is being overhauled or repaired, to satisfy a requirement of continuous operation.
I think it just speaks to how quickly the tech has developed. Airliners work more or less the same as they did 50 years ago, computers are vastly different (and vastly more powerful).
yabut... airliners require constant maintenance and periodic rebuilds.
Those aircraft have maintainance windows/refurbishment/refits and aren't flying 24/7 though.
It's not so much surprising that the machine hasn't broken, but that someone apparently considered it worthwhile to keep it around, having about the compute of a throwaway vape.
Isn't mostly capacitors that limit the lifespan? With a proper maintenance plan (as airliners follow) you could probably keep servers running for a long time.
That may well be the case, but such a long period still seems extraordinary
Airliners are up against physical limitations that don't incentivize upgrading. If there was an airliner that could fit millions of people and cost less than the 1980s version, I don't think you'd see many 80s aircraft around anymore, except in niece applications such as this computer. Perhaps now that we're at the end of Moore's law, you might see a larger amount of long-lived computers. But on the other hand, we'll probably find new ways to innovate in computing power.
There are industrial machines such as steam hammers that have been in constant use for more than a century.
Those are getting regular maintenance and overhauls while not flying, it's not really comparable.
On other side only moving element would be hard drives and only wear element really would be the electrolytic caps.
> There are airliners that have been in service for over 50 years.
...with a very aggressive maintenance cycle (typical part life is 1000-10000 hrs of service). Most airliners of that vintage resemble the "Ship of Theseus" in real life.
>There are airliners that have been in service for over 50 years.
Are there any airliners that have flown for 24 years non-stop?