We do have an experienced windows sysadmin... Namely me... I know that you can set up a scheduled task to reboot the server, but I don't want to take the risk of the servers not coming back up properly (as often is the case with windows). For example, recently crystal tech was performing maintanence on our servers (basically moving them from one segment to another, or something to that extent). They turned off the server, moved it to it's new home, and then turned it back on. They however, forgot to make sure that the network was up and running (or forgot to plug in the ethernet cable right away). So guess what we discovered the following morning? We couldn't access any of the sites because the DNS Server service decided not to start as there was no network connection. The SmarterMail service also decided not to work properly, as there was not network address to bind to. Now, I'm not sure if Linux would've handled this better (my guess is that it would), but this is just an example of what can happen when windows is rebooted.
The point is that Linux doesn't require a reboot when it gets updates, only windows does. This is due to the fact that windows updates patch core windows components, things that shouldn't have problems in the first place. Windows inherently has problems. Linux might have problems too, but Linux has a smaller userbase, and therefore less people interested in writing worms for it. When a real hacker writes a worm, it's not just to take systems down, or get famous. Most of the time they're doing it to infect the host computers and either turn them into warez servers or turn them into soldiers in their robot army used for DDOS attacks. Even a well configured Windows system can be taken down, due to the fact that a lot of problems exist in the core windows components, things that cannot be disabled. Russ -----Original Message----- From: Dave Watts [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, November 24, 2005 8:09 PM To: CF-Talk Subject: RE: CF Hosting > But a well configured linux server that is properly updated will stand > up to 99% of whats out there. So will a well-configured Windows server. > And the fact that linux doesn't require you to reboot everytime that > you do updates (and updates can be done totally automatically through > up2date, for most software), will keep linux servers better patched > then windows. We have several servers that have had windows updates > installed, but haven't been rebooted because we can't take down > production systems, and nobody is willing to wake up @ 3am to reboot > them. > Now that's probably a ticking timebomb, as I'm not sure how patched a > server really is if you don't reboot it after windows updates. But I > guess we've been lucky so far... First, most Windows updates don't require a reboot. Second, there are all sorts of automated patching solutions in the Windows world, if you're interested in using them. I'm not a big fan of automated patching of production servers - a properly-configured server will not need the vast majority of patches available, since you will have disabled or removed the thing being patched in most cases. Oh, and Windows has a task scheduler, so if you want to reboot servers during off-hours, you can do that pretty easily. And no, if a patch requires a reboot and you don't reboot the server, the patch is not yet applied. Finally, based on the above paragraph, I would recommend that you hire an experienced Windows sysadmin. Dave Watts, CTO, Fig Leaf Software http://www.figleaf.com/ Fig Leaf Software provides the highest caliber vendor-authorized instruction at our training centers in Washington DC, Atlanta, Chicago, Baltimore, Northern Virginia, or on-site at your location. Visit http://training.figleaf.com/ for more information! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Find out how CFTicket can increase your company's customer support efficiency by 100% http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=49 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:4:225212 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/4 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:4 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.4 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
