Re: [PATCH x86_64] Live Patching Function on 2.6.11.7

[Chris Wedgwood <cw@f00f.org>]

On Mon, Apr 18, 2005 at 12:35:04AM -0600, Chris Friesen wrote:

> In the telecom space it's quite common to want to modify multiple
> running binaries with as little downtime as possible.

OK

> (Beyond a threshold it becomes FCC-reportable in the US, and
> everyone wants to avoid that...)

That's beside the point.

> Our old proprietary OS had explicit support for replacing running
> binary code on the fly, so customers have gotten used to the
> ability.  Now they want equivalent functionality with our
> linux-based stuff.

*Why* do they need this is what I asked.  A sensible real world
example would be useful.

> For general application support I suspect some kernel support will
> be required.  Whether this is the way to go or whether it can be
> done using existing mechanisms, I'm not knowledgeable enough to
> comment.

I used to work in telco space, we had some such systems and similar
things.  Some from Nortel even.

None of the things I saw did anything that I can image really need a
complicated kernel patch for.


In fact, I'm not convinced *any* of these uses really needed
live-patching at all.


I would just like some examples of real-world needs and an explanation
of why it's needed.  Not handy-waving.