When in doubt, reboot? Not Unix boxes

“I want to take a closer look at the reboot issue. It’s a hot
spot for all server admins, but to Unix geeks, it’s a deeper issue
— probably because Windows admins use reboots as one of their
first troubleshooting steps, while it’s one of the last for the
Unix team.

“Here’s the reality: Server reboots should be rare — very rare.
I cited kernel updates and hardware replacement as the two leading
causes of reboots in the Unix world. Some have mentioned
significant security risks in not rebooting servers, but that’s
nonsense. If there’s a security risk present in a service or
application, a patch can be applied without requiring a reboot. If
the security risk is present in a kernel module, it’s generally
possible to unload the module, apply a patch, and reload the
module. Yes, as I said, you need to reboot if there’s a security
risk in the kernel. Otherwise, there’s no real reason to reboot a
Unix box.

“Some argued that other risks arise if you don’t reboot, such as
the possibility certain critical services aren’t set to start at
boot, which can cause problems.”

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