Has anyone did an uptime report on single board computers like the PI's and odroids? I curious to know.

I use a refurbished HP DL 380 G6 as my desktop computer with:
16x Intel Xeon CPU X5570 @ 2.93GHz (two quad core CPUs);
64 GB of RAM;
eight 15K rpm 146 GB SCSI drives;
two 750 watt PS (only use one at a time, and have the other for backup);
[AMD/ATI] Cedar [Radeon HD 5000/6000/7350/8350 Series];
Audio: AV200 - Xonar DSX.
Cost me around 1500.00 USD; the video and sound cards were purchased separately. Total cost was around 1700.00 USD. That was two years ago. Prices have come down, and you can get a G7 for the same price today with even 96 GB RAM.
I custom installed Debian 8.2 with custom partitions on different physical RAID drives.
Check out:
https://www.orangecomputers.com/node...brand&brand=HP
Where you can build your own custom machine.
Be aware that the shipping for this monster will be around 70.00 USD, but it is worth it.
I can run over a hundred routers (7200 vxr) in GNS3 on this system, while having 20+ other windows open for browsing using Chrome, Sylpheed for email, Osmo for my calendar, and seven instances of SecureCRT open with an average of 12 tabs each for all the routers that I want to be connected to. I also have VitualBox running several custom versions of Debian 8.3, CLI based, for use with my emulated routers.
My current version of Debian is 8.3, x64, after the patches applied recently.
I can easily get another two years of performance from this system before I refresh to another DL 380, probably a G8, or better; and with even more RAM.
From my point of view, the combination of an HP DL 380 G6 and Debian 8.3 x64 is unbeatable. I just leave it running all the time, and always do whatever work I need to do without having to shut down any of my apps. I can even perform patching on the system without closing the apps, as long as they are not receiving any patches.
I could not be happier; well, actually I could, but then I would need to spend two or three times as much, and that is not going to happen! LOL.

Just out of curiosity, I just went to Orange Computers and built a DL 380 G6 system, that is better my my current system, and for less cost.
Here are the specs:

Total Per Server: $1205
HP Proliant DL380 G6 Custom Server

Dual Heatsink Configuration for Two Processors
Dual Xeon X5675 Six Core 3.06GHz 12MB 6.4GT/s 95W
128GB - (8 x 8GB) + (8 x 8GB) PC3-10600R
P410i/256MB (RAID 0, 1, 1+0 ,5, 5+0)
Slimline DVD-RW
One x16 (x8 Bus) FH FL; Two x8 (x4 Bus) FH HL
One x16 (x8 Bus) FH FL; Two x8 (x4 Bus) FH HL
Two Embedded Dual Port NC382i 1Gb Ethernet (4 Total Ports)
Dual 750 Watt Redundant Power Supplies
Sliding Rail Kit (no CMA)
8 x Used HP 146GB 15K 6G DP SAS SFF in Hot Plug Tray

Shipping from St Louis, MO to Alexandria, VA is about 64.00 USD.


Note: I am not saying that Orange Computers is the only place to get these kinds of deals, but that searching the Internet for custom built, refurbished computers should net you a fantastic system, on which you can run your personal flavor of Linux, and maybe reboot only every six months, or even just once per year.

After all, why settle for a traditional desktop that is so limited in performance, and needs to be refreshed every two years.

The "up time survey" will reveal nothing of value, evidenced by all the confusing "votes and commentary" with respect to what "up time" actually means.

More significant would be to know: How many Linux system crashes (reliability) requiring reboot/repair, how many hacks (security), how many updates (current) by popular distros. Up time is not specific. How does this survey allow comparing one distro to another, or, Linux to Windows? It would give the hard working Linux developers real information that would help them focus on improving Linux, no matter what distro.

The current survey results, for example, leave too many questions about what is behind the statistics, and sheds little to no light on problems, or how to solve them.

Just say'n.

1 members found this post helpful.

Can't we have a survey that's just fun, that doesn't need to go back to dev's to make "it" better, or compare to "other", or bring to light problems?

I don't understand why people boast about uptime for desktops. It's wasteful. Desktop computers consume a lot of power; if they're idle, they should be shut down. Most people switch off the lights when they're the last to leave a room, and the lights consume less power than a desktop.

I can tell. This thread is about uptime. Not your personal druthers.

My laptop this morning

Shutting down after this post to go outside and do some real work.

Indeed, I find it interesting to find out others' opinions regarding power saving, or not and how often kernels and the like are updated and that kind of thing.

The Laptop..Linux

The Desktop..Hackintosh

Simple: the hardware lasts much longer that way. Turning power on/off creates thermal shock to components. Also, while power is stabilizing (or destabilizing), bus contention occurs while signals fight each other. The lifetime of some components is reduced by a factor of 10 through frequent power cycling. Wastefulness is a myth - what you save in electricity by shutting down is soon spent on buying new power supplies, motherboards, video cards, hard drives, etc - not to mention recycling impact.

There may be some truth in that but as a general rule it doesn't hold up at all. The number of people running machines for upwards of 5 years or even upwards of 10 without a hitch who turn them on and off every day is huge. So, even if the lifetime could be extended by a factor of ten that's pretty pointless when, for most people*, a machine over ten years old is next to useless anyhow.
There simply would not be the case that businesses employ programs to shut computers down every day across their whole fleet if it meant a lot more hardware failure -- they would be quick to find if it were a flawed money saving idea.
Also, leaving a computer on constantly all year for a year in many countries costs more than a decent PSU.

*Those who like to run "modern" tasks of the time.

Nope. Business that do that *also* upgrade their hardware every year or two, so the point is moot. But yes, if you upgrade your hardware often, then the shutdown issue is not as big of a deal. But for someone like me, who has several machines that have been running continuously since the mid '90s (barring power outages), it *is* a big deal.

Hmm, except, surely, those machine from the '90s cost almost as much to run per year as one new machine would cost to buy?
Don't get me wrong, I see where you're coming from. Just different ways of looking at things. For example, I ditched an old desktop I was using as a "server" a few years back because it was noisy and using a fair bit of power. Now I've a Pi which barely uses any power and makes no noise and the Pi cost less than a year's worth of electricity for the old machine.
Everyone's case is different though and I realise some have cheap or even free electricity and almost no access to or money for kit.

I am replacing older machines with Raspberry Pi's as they die, mainly to save space. But those old boxes seem to last forever...

I don't understand why people have desktops in the first place. All of my "desktops" now are laptops or mini-tops (pi's, IoT devices, repurposed smartphones, etc..) It's wasteful to have various devices that have some capability to run simple Unix commands. These devices consume a lot less power and if they are idle, they should be shared so other people can use them. Most people have some unawareness that one does not have to "switch" off the lights anymore. They can be dimmed, change colors, or be in a low-power state with smart bulbs. Anything solid-state and LED / optic-like can be used to consume as much power as a USB thumb drive now. <<< Fixed it for You in 2016. ^.^