My opinion on Ubuntu cancelling Intel 80386/80386-clone processor support

[Ryan Cunningham]

> El sept 7, 2016, a las 4:17 AM, Simos Xenitellis <simos.lists at googlemail.com> escribió:
> 
> On Wed, Sep 7, 2016 at 3:08 AM, Ryan Cunningham
> <levantamos.para.unir at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> I have heard recently that Ubuntu has plans to cancel support for processors in the Intel 80386 family (and clones of the same). This is impacting me because I have a 32-bit Ubuntu machine (powered by an Intel 80586) which runs Ubuntu 16.10. This machine, a home laptop converted into a server, is only in the testing phase right now and probably will remain there for 6 years at most. That is, until I obtain my bachelor's degree in elementary/high school education and my teaching certificate (I am going to use this machine for a school I will thereafter create).
> 
> Hi!
> First of all, regardless of all other decisions that be taken, you are
> fine with 16.04 at least until the year 2021.
> 
> I am not addressing your request, I am focusing on the practicalities
> of maintaining an old laptop as a server.
> I assume your laptop was made around the year 2000-2003 because the
> CPU is Intel 80586.

Sorry, I made a mistake: My computer’s CPU is actually an Intel 80686.

> [. . .]
> 
> You should get health metrics from this laptop in order to assess
> whether it can work reliably until 2021.
> Specifically,
> 
> A. Hard disk health status.
> 
> Install "smartnontools" (extract health data from inside the hard disk) with
> 
> sudo apt install smartmontools
> 
> Then, obtain the hard disk health status report by running
> 
> sudo smartctl -a /dev/hda
> 
> This command will read the internal attributes that are stored on the hard disk.
> Among those attributes, the important ones are
> 1. Power_On_Hours (how many hours the hard disk was on, which
> coincides with the laptop being on).
> The "Raw Value" is the number of hours. The maximum I ever saw on a
> working disk was 10000.
> I am really interested in seeing your value for this one.

“Smartctl open device: /dev/hda failed: No such device”

I’ve tried /dev/sda: By doing so, I get 6016 Power_On_Hours . . .

> 2. Reallocated_Sector_Ct (how many bad sectors have been reallocated
> to the buffer space).
> Here the Raw value should be 0.

. . . and a Reallocated_Sector_Ct of “0 (2000 0).”

> B. CPU Temperature
> 
> Install "lm-sensors" (read motherboard sensor values)
> 
> sudo apt install lm-sensors
> 
> Configure "lm-sensors"
> 
> sudo sensors-detect
> 
> (answer Yes to the autodetection).
> 
> Finally, read the current sensor values with
> 
> sensors
> 
> The temperatures when your laptop is idle, should be below 50C. If
> they are over 60C when idle, you have heating issues.

Mine is 38 deg. C right now.

> 
> Nowdays, instead of having an old laptop as a server, the common thing
> to do is get a Small Board Computer (SBC),
> like the Raspberry Pi. There are cheaper versions, and they start at
> around $15. You can get them to run Ubuntu just fine.
> 
> Hope this helps,
> Simos

Sincerely,

Ryan Cunningham