I just need to gush for a minute. I am about to shutdown my server in order to move it to the basement. This off the shelf $300 desktop running Pop!_OS is my self-hosting server that has dutifully done it’s job without a single complaint. It has been rebooted maybe three times since 2020 and it currently has an uptime of 840 days. That’s 840 days of not ever thinking about this thing. It self updates via Cron jobs and just…works.
I am afraid to open the box up though. Those dust bunnies must be huge.
This is the future we were promised, dumb machines doing work 24/7. I’d change it to Debian but you stick with whatever works best for you.
I have moved on to LMDE for everything other than my laptop, but I don’t feel like rebuilding the thing. I just blew out the dust and in a few minutes it will be back up and running in the basement.
You can update and change repos.
But I hope you use kernel livepatching, because that uptime is scary. You missed like 50 kernel updates
I am pretty sure the kernel is up to date, but I am not 100% sure since I haven’t checked that the process didn’t fail at some point. This is a tertiary backup system, super low priority, hosting movies, music, and VeraCrypt drives internally behind multiple layers of network security and isolated in the DMZ where I keep stuff I want isolated from my network, like SmartTVs, IOT crap, and gaming consoles. But since I am working on it now, I will double check.
EDIT: 6.9.3, which is a little behind, but I’m ok with that.
The LTS kernel is still version 6.6, till 12/2026, so you’re up to date. I wouldn’t worry.
Crazy how did it update without a reboot?
Pop_OS was updated regularly. The kernel version changed to the latest one once it booted up in the new location. It was probably live on 6.0.9 before the move since that was the last one I recorded.
Oh 6.0.9 ! I thought 6.9. 6.0.x is extremely old
It was 6.9.3 once I booted after the move. I assume it had been updated but waiting for a reboot to use the new kernel. Until I rebooted, it was probably still running on the 6.0.9 image.
If uptime and having the latest kernel ever becomes something I care about for this server, I might switch to Ubuntu Pro. It is free for personal use and it includes kernel livepatching. I can’t imagine why I would need it for this use case though.
Well, you’re already on a Debian based distro and not Ubuntu. Let it do it’s thing in the most boring way :D
uptime of 840 days
This always makes me wince. I don’t think high uptimes should be celebrated. Has your kernel ever been patched or the services running restarted? Just installing the updates is not enough to secure your system you need to be running that new code as well.
Also, I get very nervous about touching those systems. You have no clue what state it is in. I have seen far too many large uptime server have their power go some day and are never able to boot again or don’t boot all the services back up as someone forgot to enable the service.
Nop, rather see them rebooted regularly at a non critical time so we know they will come back up. Or even better have a HA setup.
You can’t allow to lose sight of context. In general I agree with you, but this is not a production server or even a system exposed to the Internet. This is an internal server hosting my stuff to me and only accessible via a VPN server that is on a different machine that is updated regularly who in turn is behind secure physical network devices with their own rules. This machine only job was to be available when called upon and it always has been. It does not need a kernel update although it could use one. All software on it is up to date and all security patches are updated regularly. If by any chance the system was fully compromised, all the culprit would get are tertiary copies of my movies and music collections, which they can enjoy, and a bunch of tertiary copies of my VeraCrypt virtual drives in which I replicate my backups. Again, context.
Lesson time. In security strategy we have the risk equation. The calculated risk of something is the magnitude of the harm it could potentially do, times the probability of it actually happening, all divided by any prevention measures you have or can take. Nothing is perfectly or inherently safe or unsafe, you always have to calculate the risks taking into account all the factors, and balance risk against operative costs. There’s a lot of economic value in a low risk system that doesn’t require much intervention or maintenance.
How vulnerable your system is with an old kernel/old code depends on what you’re running. If you’re running a bunch of sophisticated services that allow access on the open internet, you may have more vulnerabilities than if you’re just running a file share. The kernel doesn’t really matter at all unless either you allow other people to run commands or someone is able to exploit a RCE exploit.
The kernel has tons of vulnerabilities that get patched with updates. You really shouldn’t be running a older kernel for that long
Sure, but those vulnerabilities aren’t just open to the network. Almost every one requires you to be able to run at least unprivileged arbitrary code on the machine.
Usually but are you paying close enough to the security notices to know when it isn’t?
It’s very big news when there’s a vulnerability in the Linux kernel itself that can be remotely exploited. Like, everyone on any security show/podcast/blog is talking about it.
Cool, CVEs don’t tell you whether it’s remotely exploitable. What I’m talking about is an issue with the Linux kernel itself that can be exploited without having the existing ability to run code on the machine.
@JoMiran
>I am afraid to open the box up though. Those dust bunnies must be huge.Yeah probably, but it’s necessary to remove them if you want your machine to stay in good conditions for the next years, even more important when it’s running 24/7.
I know, that’s why I’m opening it and why it is going to the basement. It’s basically a concrete bunker at a constant 50°f with no windows and just a filtered radon extraction unit. There are cans sitting there since the COVID lockdown that still have no dust on them. The closet it is in now has carpet. Enough said.
EDIT: It was shockingly clean. Some dust and cobwebs, but very little.
I’ve read that human skin particles make up a significant portion of household dust.
… Are you a robot?
You ever watch Gattaca? If so, do you remember Ethan Hawke’s character taking a “shower”? That’s basically me.
At a 50°F ambient temperature the fan probably doesn’t have to move all too much air all too often.
That’s the idea, but that’s where it is going. It was in the upstairs closet where the temps are kept at human comfort levels (68-78).
Hijack the power cable and solder it to a battery while you move it
When people ask me why I like Linux, my go-to reason is my main personal machine. I use it for everything I do outside of work, including running my Emby server.
I built it from $500 worth of parts 13 years ago. I’ve kept updating the os and applications. It’s starting to slow down a bit after the last os upgrade, but it’s still plenty usable.
I am getting concerned about the spinning platters. As far as I am aware, Linux won’t prevent an ancient hard disk drive from reaching the natural end of is life.
It’s probably time to move on to a new machine. Well, new motherboard, CPU, RAM, and disks at least.
I spun down my 486 DX 33 home linux server in 2006 simply because by then it was ridiculous to spend the electricity on something less powerful than a five year old entry level laptop. It never failed. I bet that if I powered it up today, it would still work as a power loud and power hungry PiHole server.
i have a ibm laptop with a really old ssd running and the health of everything looks very good. i never wrote a whole lot to the ssd, i feel like this computer could last 30 years or more without going fully obsolete. its just a basic laptop with not very good hardware that i use for looking up information during a tabletop game, read a pdf, or to browse the internet. sometimes i message people on it. perfect for my use case, and probably will never need anything more than this. it always has to be plugged in because the battery sucks now, but its lightweight and portable so its not a big deal.
Hell yeah! It’ll be super satisfying to give your system a good cleaning and upgrade. Enjoy!
You don’t need cron for updates as it is built in. Just flip the toggle and set a time.
I am that old. I like to know exactly what is happening and when.
