Longest Continuously Running Computers and Servers: Real-World Examples

Background

On Zhihu a question sparked a lively discussion: "What is the longest continuously running computer (server) in the world?" Various users shared representative examples and invited further comments.

01 Zhihu @ Luo Jian

A state‑owned telecom data center in a province has a Red Hat Linux 5.4 server that has been running since 2009, totaling 14 years of continuous operation, surviving brief power incidents thanks to dual‑grid supply.

Another base‑station device, designed with dual‑board hot‑standby, has run for 20 years, but details are confidential.

02 Zhihu @ Bai Wuqia

An Antarctic research station reportedly kept a 286/386‑class computer running for decades.

A server observed by the author has been operating for at least 20 years without ever being shut down.

The machine, first seen in 2001, originally dates back to before 1996 and runs DOS 5.0, Novell networking, and an undocumented database.

Because the database vendor went out of business, users refuse to upgrade or power off the system, relying on redundant UPS units and treating the server as a sacred, untouchable asset.

Upgrading would be straightforward: a DOS‑based database only needs another DOS host, but the original installer is missing, so only disk cloning is possible, and even stopping the database is considered too risky.

03 Zhihu @ BG6CQ

Two Linux servers installed in 2007 have never been rebooted; one provides network authentication, the other a PPTP VPN. Their 32‑bit kernels overflow after 497 days of uptime, resetting to zero.

04 Zhihu @ Da Yang

A personal server has been running for nearly three years.

05 Zhihu @ hihahuha

A Windows 2003 database server placed in a rebuilt data center around 2005 has run for over a decade without a reboot, despite a UPS failure.

06 Zhihu @ Zhizhe Bu Zhi

One production environment device has accumulated 4 822 days of uptime, i.e., more than 13 years.

07 Zhihu @ Rearc

A Sun 280R Solaris 9 server logged 10 years (3 737 days) of uptime; rumors claim another Sun server reached 19 years before a power loss.

08 Zhihu @ penddy

NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft computer system has been operating for nearly 47 years, with its command and control system (CCS) running continuously since launch on 20 August 1977 – over 43 years as of October 2020.

Voyager 1’s computer has also been running for 46 years.

09 Zhihu @ scim

Another server has logged 3 269 days; two HP RX8640 machines each exceeded 3 000 days before retirement.

10 Zhihu @ Liang Le

A operations principle: "If you can avoid moving it, don’t move it."

11 Zhihu @ Lan De Qin Kuai

Some claim a massive online game server has an uptime of over 4 billion years (humorous exaggeration).

Conclusion

The article ends with a promotional note for a Java architecture community and various software product links, which are not part of the technical discussion.