GoKawiilStratus fault-tolerant server from 1993 still running at Great Lakes Works, retirement nears
A Stratus Technologies fault-tolerant server first switched on in 1993 is still operating at steel maker Great Lakes Works EGL in Dearborn, Michigan, according to IT application architect Phil Hogan, who has maintained it ever since. Roughly 80% of the original hardware remains in place, with disk drives, power supplies and other parts swapped in over the years, and Hogan says the machine has never suffered an unplanned shutdown. It won a 2010 Stratus contest for longest-running server and still runs an early-2000s version of the proprietary VOS operating system.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The case illustrates how redundant, fault-tolerant hardware architectures can vastly outlast typical server lifespans, which could inform decisions by industrial firms weighing reliability against modernization costs. Hogan's account suggests that user satisfaction with a simple, stable interface—rather than technical failure—has been the main reason upgrades kept getting postponed, hinting at how legacy systems can persist in industrial settings long after they might be expected to retire.
- A Stratus fault-tolerant server installed in 1993 is still running at Great Lakes Works EGL, with about 80% of original components intact.
- The system has reportedly never had an unplanned shutdown and won a 2010 Stratus contest for longest continuous operation.
- Despite lacking a maintenance contract, the company has sourced replacement parts from third-party vendors, and Stratus says it likely still stocks some parts.
Source: computerworld.com — More This Author, 2026-09-27
Published there as: “Booted up in 1993, this server still runs – but not for much longer (2017)”
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