Ksplice Inc. today officially launched its no-reboot patching service for Linux servers. The Cambridge, Mass., start-up has about 35 customers and several thousand servers using its paid Uptrack service, in which security and maintenance patches are automatically applied to Linux servers with minimal delay and no downtime, according to Chief Operating Officer Waseem Daher.

If you use Linux, you don't reboot very often. In my case, the only time I reboot is when I upgrade a system. But suppose, just suppose you didn't have to do that. Suppose you could even make major updates and never have to reboot your system? You don't have to imagine it anymore. Ksplice delivers the goods.

Ksplice Uptrack is a subscription service that lets you apply 100% of the important kernel security updates released by your Linux vendor without rebooting. Ksplice Uptrack is freely available for the desktop versions of Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic and Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty. This tutorial shows how to install and use it on an Ubuntu 9.10 desktop.

Generally, all Linux distributions needs a scheduled reboot once to stay up to date with important kernel security updates. RHN (or other distro vendors) provides Linux kernel security updates. You can apply kernel updates using yum command or apt-get command line options. After each upgrade you need to reboot the server.

Ksplice, the technology that allows Linux kernel updates without a reboot, is now free for users of the Fedora distribution

Avoid reboots of your system with live Kernel updates using Ksplice

"I've put together an automatic system for applying kernel security patches to the Linux kernel without rebooting it, and I wanted to share this system with the community in case others find it useful or interesting," said Jeff Arnold, announcing ksplice.

I usually have to reboot my Linux systems about once every six months. Linux is as stable as a rock. For some users even twice-a-year reboots is twice a year too often and that's where Ksplice comes in.

This sounds like a very interesting notion. The popular saying goes, you should never reboot your Linux, unless you have to, which is usually only when a kernel update comes. But maybe not even then?