Topics:
Open Source
Ksplice: No More Reboots?
The idea may seem complicated, but the implementation isn't. If you're running Ubuntu 9.04 or 9.10, all you need to do is install the Ksplice client, called Ksplice Uptrack, by downloading and setting up a .deb package file. Once it's installed, you'll see an icon in the system tray (the "K with the warning sign" in the picture below) which alerts you whenever there's a kernel-level update that needs to be applied. Click "Install all updates" in the client window, and the changes are applied. That's all there is to it.
The technical details for how this is accomplished are detailed in a paper presented earlier this year at the ACM SIGOPS EuroSys Conference. Since the changes don't depend on a pre-modification to the kernel, they can be applied to any running kernel -- that the current implementation is just for Ubuntu doesn't mean other flavors of Linux pose major problems. I decided to put that to the test, and so installed Ubuntu 9.10's current release in a VirtualBox instance with the VirtualBox guest extensions compiled into the kernel. Ksplice was able to apply all of its needed patches to that kernel as well -- again, without a reboot. I'm going to continue running that box as long as I humanly can and see what the results are. Color me impressed. If this doesn't become a standard-issue feature on Linux by, say, the end of next year, I'll be stunned. Physical memory is a gold mine of information, and its analysis is part of several areas, including troubleshooting and forensics investigation. Attend a Black Hat Webcast on the topic. It happens Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009. Find out more and register. Twitter: Me | InformationWeek « Forget Windows 7 Service Pack 1 | Main | Verizon: Our Network Can Handle The Droid » |
| Sign Up Now For InformationWeek News Alerts |
This is a public forum. United Business Media and its affiliates are not responsible for and do not control what is posted herein. United Business Media makes no warranties or guarantees concerning any advice dispensed by its staff members or readers.
Community standards in this comment area do not permit hate language, excessive profanity, or other patently offensive language. Please be aware that all information posted to this comment area becomes the property of United Business Media LLC and may be edited and republished in print or electronic format as outlined in United Business Media's Terms of Service.
Important Note: This comment area is NOT intended for commercial messages or solicitations of business.
