On 5/2/2011 10:25 AM, Les Mikesell wrote: >>> >> Trying to save a few seconds when rebooting a server seems pointlessto me > > The Linux kernel is also used in laptops/desktops Fast boots also matter for embedded systems. We integrate a series of Linux-based boxes made by another company into our system, and one of them reboots in about 9 seconds, while the other version takes about a minute. The latter are a pain to code for, since it means you have to have timeouts that can cope with a device going MIA for over a full minute before they can be talked to again.