MIT recognizes startup Ksplice for rebootless OS updates

Ksplice, a Cambridge, Mass., startup whose software is designed to help computer users keep their operating systems secure and updated without the hassle of frequent rebooting, has been named one of six finalists in the annual MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition. 

The company, launched last year by four MIT alumni, is the Web/IT category winner and will duke it out with five other category winners for the overall prize to be announced on May 13.

Ksplice currently supports Linux kernel updates but claims its rebootless updating technology, which works at the object code level, can be applied to any operating system or user space application. For the gory details on the technology, check out this paper. The company says its technology is particularly relevant for security updates, which if not applied sooner rather than later due to the inconvenience of rebooting, could leave machines vulnerable to attack. A service called Ksplice Uptrack is scheduled to be available mid-year.

Giving reboots the boot is a popular tech research area of late. We recently noted work by Cornell University, Penn State University and Northwestern University researchers looking to apply ultra-thin ferro-electric materials to computers to enable them to turn on faster.

For more on network research news, follow our Alpha Doggs blog and follow Bob Brown on Twitter.