Finally retired one of my first servers.

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
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When I was still living with my parents I decided to setup a server so I can store all my files. This kinda grew into a local web server for development, mail gateway, DNS, and so on. Essentially any time I upgraded my workstation, the old machine would be the new server. At one point I bought hardware to build a server, rather than use "older" hardware. Was a core2quad with 8GB of ram. When I moved into my house I converted this box to rackmount and put it in my rack, which I setup maybe a few years after I moved in.

It has been running ever since. Over the years I added more servers such as a dedicated storage server, VM server, home automation server etc so lot of tasks from this server got moved over to those boxes, or new VMs. Except for mail. Mail is a PITA to setup, so I just kept getting lazy. The other day I finally decided I should just virtualize it so I can at least turn off the hardware. That was a success, and I finally turned it down. The OS install date is around 2008, and it's running Fedora Core 9. Yeah, suppose it was time to retire this box.

Since the CPU has VT-D, it does make a good test bed for trying out a new VM solution though. I want to look into something more open, that supports clustering (without expensive licensing) such as Proxmox.

It could use a bit of a cleanup though.







10+ years has been a good run! This box has seen 1,000+ day uptimes. The reboots were usually power related, such as recently when one of my UPS batteries got a shorted cell so it died prematurely during a long power outage.

Think I will clean this box up and still use it for something. I won't be surprised if I find spider egg sacs in there, so part of me wants to clean it up, and the other part of me wants to leave it alone.
 
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Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,742
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www.anyf.ca
How much did your electric bill cost a month running this server?

Never actually measured the usage tbh... though now that it's off, I could probably do that for fun.

I was kinda hoping to see the amp reading on the PDU change when I turn it off, but I guess it was not quite enough to make a difference. Pulling 3 amps off the main PDU which is fed by the inverter-charger. 5 amps off the other (mining rig is main load) which is protected by a smaller UPS.

Might retire the mining rig too at some point and repurpose the hardware though. Figure I just keep going for the time being in case ethereum goes up.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,742
13,855
126
www.anyf.ca
So I'm probably taking a big risk if I clean the dust using one of those spray can air blowers?

If you're serious, no it's good idea to clean it out, I just never bothered as it was a live server. I prefer using an air compressor though, less waste, and no consumables. Also good idea to turn it off and unplug as there could potentially be a bit of condensation caused by compressed air.

You do have to be diligent about not forcing dust into fan bearings or forcing fans to spin really fast though. I tend to use air compressor and shoot puffs of air from a decent distance to get the worst out, then work my way in.