The Ksplice Uptrack client enables you to apply the latest kernel security errata for Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) without halting the system or restarting any applications. Ksplice Uptrack applies the updated patches in the background with negligible impact, and usually only requires a pause of a few milliseconds. You can use Ksplice Uptrack as well as continue to upgrade your kernel through the usual mechanism, such as running the yum command.

Ksplice Uptrack is freely available for Oracle customers who subscribe to Oracle Linux Premier Support, and to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure services. If you are an Oracle Linux Basic, Basic Limited, or Network Support subscriber, contact your sales representatives to discuss a potential upgrade of your subscription to a Premier Support plan.

The Ksplice Offline client removes the requirement that a server on your intranet have a direct connection to the Oracle Uptrack server. All available Ksplice updates for each supported kernel version are bundled into an RPM that is specific to that version. This package is updated every time a new Ksplice patch becomes available for the kernel.

A Ksplice Offline client does not require a network connection to be able to apply the update package to the kernel. For example, you could use the yum command to install the update package directly from a memory stick. However, a more typical method would be to create a local ULN mirror that acts as a mirror of the Ksplice for Oracle Linux channels on ULN. At regular intervals, you download the latest Ksplice update packages to this server. After installing the Ksplice Offline client on your local systems, the systems can connect to the local ULN mirror to receive updates without requiring access to the Oracle Uptrack server. See Oracle® Linux: Ksplice User's Guide.

For information about when you might want to use the Ksplice Uptrack client in offline mode, see Section 2.3, “Choosing a Ksplice Client”.