I just checked all the machines (desktop, 2 servers) for Java error dumps - like when Java actually crashes.

There were only 3 dumps in total, after months of operation.

Two of these were related to the java.util.ZipFile class - probably reading a very malformed ZIP file? Not tragic, but maybe a problem IFF we ever encounter broken zip files again...

The third crash report just said "There is insufficient memory for the Java Runtime Environment to continue.". That should - and definitely can - be avoided.

Overall, let's just say: It Works.

Verdict: We can actually depend on it - provided we don't assume it is reliable rocket fuel steering circuitry. ^^