There are also systems management tools available from enterprise vendors, for 

example, the Red Hat Network tools from Red Hat and the Red Carpet tools from 

Novell.

2.1.3  Manageability of the Linux client

One of the major issues related to client choice is the way the client can be 

managed. Another issue is the cost related to this management as stated in 

2.1.2,  Costs related to Linux client  on page 14. Some of the inherent properties 

of the Linux operating system, as well as tools developed in either the open 

source community or by vendors, make the Linux client a very manageable client 

alternative.

The properties and tools we discuss in this section are:

Modular structure of the operating system

Update/patch mechanism

Inherent remote access

Remote management and provisioning tools

Modular structure of the operating system

The Linux kernel has, by design, a modular structure. This means that the kernel 

is not one monolithic binary. Instead, it consists of a central smaller kernel binary 

together with various kernel modules. The kernel modules can be loaded when 

needed. Some of the modules have to be loaded at boot up because these are 

needed to read file systems or other peripheral hardware.

Not only the kernel is modular, but the application framework around the kernel 

has a modular construction as well. The applications like scripting engines (Perl, 

PHP, Python) or editors (gedit, vi) are not integrated into the operating system 

and can even be replaced by others or new versions more or less independently.

The modular nature of Linux means that updates or patches only involve a small 

part of the operating system, for example, either a single application binary or 

library within the application framework or a single kernel module. This 

modularity is the main reason that an update or a patch almost always does not 

require a reboot on Linux. 

Update/patch mechanism

The update/patch mechanism for Linux does not need to be central to the 

system. What we mean by this is that since updating or patching will not be 

destructive to the system state (in other words, leading to a reboot), it can be 

done while other applications are running. Unless the update or patch impacts 

the core kernel or a running application, it can be done online. 

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Linux Client Migration Cookbook   A Practical Planning and Implementation Guide for Migrating to Desktop Linux