3 ms·

Linux supports replacing the kernel without a reboot (see kexec), but I doubt we will ever see a time where the benefits of doing so outweigh the complexity and

Linux supports replacing the kernel without a reboot (see kexec), but I doubt we will ever see a time where the benefits of doing so outweigh the complexity and risk of error in the general case.

vezzy-fnord 11y ago
It can certainly be done properly, even on relatively static systems like Unix. See Cristiano Giuffrida's Ph.D. thesis on "Safe and Automatic Live Update" [1], or, if you don't want to skim through 197 pages, the significantly shorter master's thesis "Safe and Automatic Live Update for Unix Applications" [2] by Calin Iorgulescu. The research has been supervised by AST and since incorporated into MINIX 3. [1] http://www.minix3.org/theses/Cristiano_Giuffrida_PhD_thesis.pdf http://www.minix3.org/theses/Cristiano_Giuffrida_PhD_thesis.... [2] http://www.minix3.org/theses/Calin_Iorgulescu_Master_Thesis.pdf http://www.minix3.org/theses/Calin_Iorgulescu_Master_Thesis....
heinrich5991 11y ago
As I understand it, it still has to bring down the whole system (I mean all processes) in order to do that – isn't that functionally equivalent to a reboot?
- icebraining 11y ago
  kexec does, but Ksplice and kpatch don't, they just pause the processes momentarily.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]