Server retired after 18 years and ten months – beat that, readers!
Found on The Register on Thursday, 14 January 2016
Ross says the box was “Built and brought into service in early 1997” and has “been running 24/7 for 18 years and 10 months.”
“By the time it was probably due for a review, things had moved so far that all the original code was so tightly bound to the operating system itself, that later versions of the OS would have (and ultimately, did) require substantial rework. While it was running and not showing any signs of stress, it was simply expedient to leave sleeping dogs lie.”
That should be normal. Unless you need new hardware to increase resources, it should just work. However, sales persons tell you that hardware should be replaced every couple of years, even if you don't really need it.