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.

Ksplice Uptrack is an update service for the Linux kernel; it automatically delivers security and reliability improvements to your machine, without the disruption of rebooting.

"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.

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.

Avoid reboots of your system with live Kernel updates using Ksplice

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 is an amazing new technology which allows patches to be applied directly into a running kernel, without needing a reboot. Linux Magazine talks with co-founder and Chief Operating Officer and discusses the origins of the project and what it has to offer.

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

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.