Is it really necessary to reboot as part of the update process?

Ask Fedora
1

I’ve been using Fedora Workstation on my Lenovo Laptop for a pretty long time. I have mostly used the Cinnamon DE and recently installed KDE and will probably stick to that. For updating between semi-annual release upgrades, I have used “dnf update” on the command line as well as the dnfdragora-updater, After installing KDE, I also use the Discovery Updater. Over the years, I don’t think I have ever been instructed to reboot after installing updates using any of these methods. And, I don’t recall a single instance of having update related issues. Also, I don’t make it a regular practice of rebooting. I usually just close the lid and let it sleep until I’m ready to go again. Recently I came across an article suggesting that it is best, if not necessary, to use “offline-upgrade download” and “offline-upgrade reboot”. I’ve done it that way and, of course, it works just fine, but I find it a bit of a nuisance especially since my screen resolution is quite high and I can barely read the text when I’m in offline terminal mode. Is this really necessary? Thanks.

2

Whichever way you update is your choice.
It is not required to use the offline upgrade tools, nor is it always required to reboot.
However, there are some conditions where rebooting is beneficial.

  1. Kernel upgrades require a reboot to load the new kernel
  2. driver or firmware upgrades require a reboot to load the new driver or firmware
  3. upgrades of things that are part of the DE can benefit from a reboot
  4. if you are using a VM then updates to qemu or libvirt would require a reload to ensure all parts are in sync.

Net answer:
reboot as you see fit.

The conditions above are guidelines and the offline updates are intended to combine the updates with a reboot so you do not even need to be aware when packages that should be followed by a reboot are updated.

Personally I do not use the offline update tools (never have) and I disable the automatic updates done by the gnome software manager. I prefer to manage this myself.

3

Thanks.
Regarding the kernel upgrades, I have a dual boot setup with Windows and GRUB menu always shows the new Kernel and the “About the System” listing always shows the new Kernel after an update without rebooting. Doesn’t that indicate that it is properly installed?
Also, if I do updates as I have been and then just reboot normally or log out and in, would that do the same thing?

4

‘Installed’ and ‘running’ are two completely different things.
A kernel can be installed but until you reboot it cannot be loaded and running.

The kernel is loaded only after it has been installed and only during the boot process when you reboot.

Doing an upgrade by whatever method you choose, then rebooting loads the newest kernel by default.

Logging out then back in on the same OS does not load a new kernel.

5

When you’re switching from Fedora to Windows and back in a dual-boot setup, you already have your system reboots.

6

To properly apply updates, especially security updates, you must restart all affected processes and services, see:

Doing that manually can be problematic, so a reboot is recommended.

1 Like
7

OK. Thanks for all the replies. I guess I need to change my habits a bit. I think it says a lot for Fedora that I can do it wrong for so long without having problems.

8

For reference, here is the complete guide for upgrading between releases:

9

Therein lies my error. I use that guide for upgrading to the next release, but have always just used “sudo dnf upgrade” for interim updates. I will be changing that.
Thanks.

10

This is the main command line upgrade process except for doing release version upgrades.

The system-upgrade plugin is for the release version upgrades.

Other than the system-upgrade plugin it seems you have been doing just fine.

11

What is wrong with that? That is exactly what I would do and continue to do.

12

Yes. What I meant by “changing that” is that I will be following up with a reboot to make sure everything is properly installed.
To what extent do you allow available update accumulate before doing an dnf update? 20, 50, 100, more?

13

It is up to you how often you update. Sometimes I do so daily and other times it may be a week or more between updates. I seldom wait more than about 10 days between updates.

If I have had problems since the last update and I know a bug fix is out or pending then I update more frequently.

14

Thanks

15

Added upgrades and removed f40

16

Added updates and removed upgrades