Reboot rant [was: Re: : [ FC2 ] ::.. NON-CRITICAL config question.]

Mitch Wiedemann mc2 at lightlink.com
Wed May 19 15:50:18 UTC 2004


Keven Ring wrote:

>
>> Hi,
>> Since you are new to Linux, you might want to run 
>> system-config-network and
>> select the NIC that is configured with DHCP, configure the hostname
>> manually, and save
>>
> Excellent Advice
>
>> and reboot.
>>  
>>
>
> <rant>
>
> Why oh Why do we have to suggest to people that rebooting will take 
> care of everything.
>
> Folks, just because some major OS must reboot for anything to take 
> effect, does not mean that this is true of Unix in general, to include 
> Linux.
>
> Why I shutdown/reboot unix boxes:
> 1) I have a new kernel
> 2) The kernel crashed (ok, this, admitted doesn't happen)
> 3) Something locked the machine up (kernel, driver, etc)
> 4) Power/Hardware Failure
> 5) I take my laptop home
> 6) I have to run some other OS
>
> Unix machines are generally *not* SINGLE USER MACHINES (there are 
> exceptions, of course!).
>
> IMO, rebooting in most other circumstances (changing network config, 
> etc) means that you just don't know how to solve the problem without 
> rebooting.  Personally, I would rather find the "correct, intended" 
> way to solve the problem, rather than resorting to reboots.  In the 
> "olden days", it could take HOURS for a system to reboot.....  It 
> wasn't something you did for fun...
>
> In the case of a network configuration change, try the following as 
> root (or sudo, if you prefer)
> service network stop
> service network start
>
> or, if you don't like to type,
> service network restart
>
> If you only want to recycle your ethernet hostname,
> ifdown eth0
> ifup eth0
>
> should work fine.  (You may need to restart X, but that is for 
> entirely different reasons).
>
>
> If you get into the mentality of rebooting like other OS's, then you 
> might as well reboot whenever you install/update something via 
> apt/yum/rpm, or when you compile something, etc.
>
> Perhaps a new menu item in Linux, similar to that in Wine/Crossover 
> Office: Simulate Reboot
>
> </rant>
>
I seem to recall that the redhat-config-network app. suggests rebooting 
when changing host names.  I haven't used it in a while, so maybe it 
doesn't anymore?  [shrug]  Anyway, if it does, then you should send your 
rant to the redhat-config-network app. developers as well.

-- 
Mitch Wiedemann
mc^2 Computer Consulting
mc2 at lightlink.com
http://www.lightlink.com/mc2





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