Date: Mon, 5 Feb 2018 17:32:25 +0100 From: Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de> To: Frank Leonhardt <frank2@fjl.co.uk> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Response to Meltdown and Spectre Message-ID: <20180205173225.9d144902.freebsd@edvax.de> In-Reply-To: <9db8908e8c86efddcab5b768fcde1f24@roundcube.fjl.org.uk> References: <CA%2BtpaK2o1nbY2W2JVRtogN=P2VM9rag_dodK=GtLWgKwNsYZkg@mail.gmail.com> <F395799E-2C94-47E9-AA1C-5CB075C50076@kreme.com> <044e62f7-69ca-71fe-34a8-5c5cafc06f08@yahoo.com> <slrnp7bpa3.2k8.naddy@lorvorc.mips.inka.de> <0520dd84-c00c-fbf2-da1c-f6ff4c63739d@yahoo.com> <20180203224612.GA10517@milliways.localdomain> <51178.108.68.160.114.1517699531.squirrel@cosmo.uchicago.edu> <slrnp7cmpn.5vo.naddy@lorvorc.mips.inka.de> <53029.108.68.160.114.1517707316.squirrel@cosmo.uchicago.edu> <20180205143720.d4d98011.freebsd@edvax.de> <20180205155721.GA2938@c720-r314251> <9db8908e8c86efddcab5b768fcde1f24@roundcube.fjl.org.uk>
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On Mon, 05 Feb 2018 16:19:43 +0000, Frank Leonhardt wrote: > On 2018-02-05 15:57, Matthias Apitz wrote: > > El d=EDa lunes, febrero 05, 2018 a las 02:37:20p. m. +0100, Polytropon= =20 > > escribi=F3: > >=20 > >> > For all production server I run any reboot that is not scheduled by = admins > >> > is ultimate disaster, so it is equivalent to "bricked" machine. That > >> > hardware can not be further used as production server, but "mere" fa= ct or > >> > reboot is ultimate disaster itself. > >>=20 > >> While this is not the established meaning of "bricked", it it > >> definitely an understandable (!) interpretation of the term. > >=20 > > For me "bricked" in addition to "unusable" means: there is no software > > way any more to change the fault because the hardware does not boot up > > into a state where it could read(...) any attempts to change somethinb.= =20 > > The > > device is now "dark" and does not communicate anymore by no means. > >=20 > > Only a hardware change (for example replace some chip) would help. >=20 > I'd go further - something is only bricked to me when I can't fix it=20 > using a rework station. It's been done... >=20 > HOWEVER, Polytropon et al make a very good point - if the software=20 > update means the device is no longer usable for its intended purpose=20 > then it might as well have bricked it. The effect is the same. That's exactly what I wanted to express: A device like a server is a machine that is specified and expected (!) to work within certain margins. Those can include processing power, I/O throughput, in conclusion downtime, reliability, performance (power utilized per $) and so on. If a software update changes this situation - and not needlessly turns it into an unbootable piece of electronic garbage -, the machine leaves those margins and can no longer be trusted in a production environment. It's not bricked per se (does still boot, does still run), but can be treated as if it was - it needs to be removed from the installation and replaced by something else. Basically, it's up to your defintion of "works as intended". Especially in production server environments, downtime is a very important thing. NB: Downtime always means "unplanned downtime", because planned downtime is "maintenance period". :-) --=20 Polytropon Magdeburg, Germany Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0 Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...
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