Re: How do security updates work, can they be automated / automatic ?

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Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 22:32:26 -0700

Dave Arbok wrote:

> We are thinking about using a Red Hat Enterprise rebuild (White Box or
> Tao Linux) on a server. The main reason we want to do this is the 5
> year security update lifecycle. I hear that some people get very long
> system uptimes because Linux can apply most updates without rebooting.
>
> Anyway, my question is, can the machine be set to get all security
> updates automatically, is there a special utility for this or is it a
> setting, how do you do it? Will a reboot ever be necessary? If a
> reboot is necessary, what is the easiest and recommended way to get
> all services running again, is it easy to set them all to run on
> startup?
>
> Further info 1: (might be needed to understand question)
> The goal is for the machine to sit in a locked room for 5 years or
> until its hard drive dies (maybe until both its RAID mirrored drives
> die, depending on costs), whichever comes first, and maintain security
> without being touched - no administration via the web / webmin either
> once it is set up. For the sake of argument, imagine that the
> administrator is retiring with no replacement.

So, let me get this straight. You want to lock a Linux system in a closet
for five or more years, with no human intervention, AND you want it to be
updated remotely with security bug fixes, also without any human
intervention or reboots.

The first part is possible, the second is not plausible.

-- 
Paul Lutus
http://www.arachnoid.com

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