[Slvd] What to restart after system upgrade? When to restart X server?

Question

Hi all,
After a system upgrade, what should be restarted? The following actions I know about:
kernel (linux): reboot
daemon (sshd, cups, iptables, etc.): rc.d restart ...
application (fvwm, mutt, etc.): restart application
But what will require restarting X server?  Can the current X server continue to run after upgrading one the following:
1. xorg-server
2. libx11 or other libraries xorg-server depends on
3. anything else?
I want to keep the system up-to-date but avoid restarting the X server to maintain my X session (>100 windows carfully spread and grouped over 22 workspaces).  Unfortunately, there is no xsm anymore and, no, I don't like gnome/kde/thelike.
Thanks,
Daan
Last edited by drrossum (2012-03-26 15:37:37)

Answer 1

brebs wrote:
A useful command is:
lsof | grep 'DEL.*lib'
I put this line in a script called stalelibs. Helps to see which services should be restarted. Or whether I'll just take the easy option and reboot :)
This is very helpful!
Also, in the link that you sent it is explained why programs don't break when their shared libraries are removed:
Existing programs (that are already loaded) have pointers to the old version, as Naib says, in RAM as code or an inode location as a file handle to the deleted version. Once all handles are gone/programs terminated, the file will then truly be "removed" from the disk and space reclaimed. Until then you'll see shared libraries still eating disk space and RAM, despite them being removed.
This is why it's good to reboot the machine after certain upgrades such as libc, so programs like init can pick up a new copy of libc.
@brebs: Thanks for the great contribution!