Avoid Windows Server 2003 reboots with hotpatching

by Scott Lowe MCSE | May 29, 2007 7:00:00 AM

Tags: Servers, Scott Lowe MCSE, Microsoft Windows Server, Microsoft Windows, hotpatch, Hotpatching, server, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 Tips Newsletter

Takeaway: Throwing a Windows server off track isn't as easy as it used to be, but patching a Windows Server 2003 can still often require a reboot. Save yourself trouble and time by stopping processes with hotpatching.

In the early days, it seemed like breathing on a Windows server resulted in the need for an administrator to reboot the server. Over the years, Microsoft has made great strides in reducing the number of reboots necessary to manage a Windows server, including Windows Server 2003. However, patching a Windows server can still result in a required reboot, thus dashing the "the five nines" goal of many organizations (i.e., 99.999 percent availability). Enter hotpatching.

Although hotpatching will not completely eliminate server reboots, the services provide a mechanism to update system files without rebooting and without stopping services and processes. Hotpatching has some limitations, which include:

• Hotpatching currently works only on 32-bit versions of Windows.
• Hotpatching has some compatibility issues with some non-Microsoft applications. See Microsoft Knowledge Base article 922612 for more information.

A hotpatch contains two versions of an update -- what Microsoft calls a "cold patch" and a "hot patch" bits. You can hotpatch a file by following this three-step process:

1. The coldpatch portion of the update replaces the old binary file.
2. The hotpatch portion of the update is then loaded into the image of the defective binary file.
3. An instruction above the defective function is inserted, which redirects subsequent calls to the updated function.

Users can obtain hotpatch-enabled update packages from Microsoft's Download Center. For more information about hotpatching, visit Microsoft's TechNet site.

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Print/View all Posts Comments on this article

does this cover all windows2003 updates? elrico-fantastica | 05/30/07

reread article dchow@... | 05/30/07

Not all patches support it mford66215 | 05/30/07

HOWTO Hotpatch link - KB 897341 mford66215 | 05/30/07