What is "ksplice"

Ksplice is an open-source extension of the Linux kernel that allows security patches to be applied to a running kernel without the need for reboots, avoiding downtimes and improving availability (a technique broadly referred to as dynamic software updating). Ksplice supports only the patches that do not make significant semantic changes to kernel's data structures.

Ksplice has been implemented for Linux on the IA-32 and x86-64 architectures. It was developed by Ksplice, Inc. until 21 July 2011, when Oracle acquired Ksplice and started offering support for Oracle Linux. Support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux was dropped and turned into a free 30-day trial for RHEL customers as an incentive to migrate to Oracle Linux Premier Support. At the same time, use of the Oracle Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK) became a requirement for using Ksplice on production systems.

, Ksplice is available for free on desktop Linux installations, with official support available for Fedora and Ubuntu Linux distributions.