There is something satisfying about keeping old hardware alive longer than anyone expected.
What is the oldest machine you have running Linux as a server, and what are you using it for? Or can it be used to run headless Linux?
Yesterday, while cleaning out storage, I found a few old goodies:
I have something like an old workstation..early-gen Intel Xeon box, it can easily handle containerized apps (Docker). Even a machine with 4GB of RAM can comfortably run a dozen lightweight services simultaneously if you stick to the terminal.
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away…
I had an old Dell 220. I set it up as a server and PPP dialup router to connect to good ol’ “tenner a month” Demon ISP, back in about the mid 90s
I remember having to load about 7 3.5" floppy discs to install Slackware, configure and compile the kernel and learn so much about networking.
The Dell was one of the last 286 processor systems before bring totally replaced by 386, 486, et Al.
Those were the days.
The oldest hardware in the house is a notebook with Intel Celeron N2830 @ 2.42 GHz
Arch Linux runs on that old piece of hardware.
Yup. That’s the one.
Although reasonably fast, because 286 architecture limited the memory expansion it was quickly superceded by 386/486.
Slackware Linux was a great way to maximise its potential and prolong it’s usefulness. It was also a good way to allow sharing of the one dialup connection between the family’s hardwired network devices. No WiFi in those days.
My wife had an Apple that still had a wooden case she was given by a friend. She wishes now she had kept it, probably a museum piece these days.
A functioning, verified Apple-1 typically sells in the high five- to seven-figure range at auction; recent public sale prices (2020–2026) have ranged roughly from ~$120k to $2.75M depending on provenance, condition.
Probably the oldest hardware that I have is a Sony Vaio PCG-7N1M build in 1997. It runs Porteus-MATE so it know it will also run a regular 32 bit serverimage no problem.
