Reboot Linux Faster Using kexec

Posted by timothy on Wednesday May 5, 2004 @01:46AM from the recurse-yourself dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Even if your work doesn't require you to reboot your Linux machine several times a day, waiting for a system to reboot can be a real drag. Enter kexec. Essentially, kexec is a fast reboot feature that lets you reboot to a new Linux kernel -- without having to go through a bootloader. Faster reboot is a benefit even when uptime isn't mission-critical -- and a lifesaver for kernel and system software developers who need to reboot their machines several times a day. Kexec is currently available on the x86 32-bit platform only."

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Useful for other reasons than speed by Anonymous Coward · 2004-05-05 05:41 · Score: 5, Interesting

While there is a marginal speedup in skipping the BIOS startup, the main benefit for me is the ability to choose which kernel to boot remotely. I don't have physical access to my colocated system and permanently setting GRUB to boot a new kernel is a bit scary. With kexec I can choose which kernel to boot from ssh. If it doesn't work out I don't have to pay the colo people to reinstall the box. They just hit the reset button :)