By Jerome Auza
In 2005, I purchased components to build one of the computers I used as a server at Auza.Net. This computer has served the company for more than 10 years. It finally refused to power up on November 21, 2015.
From all of the computers I have used, this was the longest operating computer ever. I haven’t replaced any component during this period. Most of the time it is running 24/7. At one point, the CPU fan stopped working so I had to put a USB powered external fan to cool the CPU.
In July 8, 2007, it powered the first ever real-time worldwide broadcast of DYRD-AM via its website www.dyrdam.com. Several months later, it also powered the data capture of the Textklamo service of the same station.
Dusty and crippled beyond repair, I removed the CPU from the server rack, gave it a final check before I hugged it goodbye. Well, I didn’t really hug it but it’s the thought that counts, right?
In its 10 years of operation, I hardly had to do any maintenance. It has streamed a few years worth of broadcast of DYRD-AM. It has processed thousands of TxtKlamo messages. It has drawn for me thousands of monitoring charts.
This is even more proof of the stability of the Linux operating system. The only times it would shutdown is when I am not able to run the generator in time before the UPS runs out of reserved power.
Goodbye computer with local IP address 192.168.15.23. You will be missed.
