When your server needs a restart

Most updates strackt installs on your server take effect straight away. Updates to the server's core system are different: they're installed, but the server keeps running the old version until it restarts. Until then, the security and stability fixes in that update aren't active.

When that's the case, strackt tells you on the server's page and books the restart for you. You don't have to do anything, but you can restart sooner if you'd rather not wait.

Where you see it

Open the server. Its summary says A restart is planned for a date, or An urgent security restart is planned for a date when the restart is urgent. The server's Updates card has the details:

• When it will happen: the date and time of the next restart, in your maintenance window unless it's urgent.
• What it brings: how many security fixes take effect at the next restart.
• What's running now: the versions the server runs today.
• When it last updated and restarted.

If no restart is booked, the card says No restart planned.

A restart doesn't appear among the server's Pending Changes; that card lists configuration changes only. See Server pending changes.

When strackt notices

strackt checks whether a restart is needed:

• after every update it applies to the server,
• a few minutes after the server restarts,
• when the server comes back online after being offline,
• and once a week as a safety net.

It only checks while the server is online, fully set up, and not busy with other work. So a restart that's needed can take until the next check to show up.

What you can do

Let it run in your maintenance window

This is the default, and you don't need to do anything. strackt restarts the server during your maintenance window on the date shown on the card. A routine restart is booked at least 7 days ahead, and no sooner than 28 days after the server last started (14 if you chose to restart every two weeks). You get a notification when the restart is booked and another when it completes.

To choose the hours these restarts happen, and how often, go to Settings → Maintenance. See Maintenance windows.

If the date doesn't suit you, choose Postpone 2 weeks on the Updates card. You can postpone a restart once, only while it's more than an hour away, and not beyond 45 days after the server last started.

Urgent security restarts

When the update fixes a security problem that is known to be actively exploited, the restart is urgent. It's booked for 4 hours later, outside your maintenance window, and it can't be postponed. See How strackt keeps your servers updated.

Restart now

To get the fixes in place straight away:

1. Open the server and find the Updates card.
2. Choose Restart now.
3. Confirm the restart.

Restart now is there while the restart is still waiting to run. strackt only starts it when the server is online and not busy. If it isn't, you'll see This reboot can't be applied right now. Wait for the current work to finish, then try again.

You can also restart from Settings → General → Danger zone by choosing Reboot, or from the command palette with Reboot server. A restart started this way also takes care of the pending one.

What's offline during a restart

Before restarting, strackt lets background work on the server finish cleanly. While the server restarts, your applications are offline. The card says to expect this to last about a minute.

A few minutes after the restart, strackt checks the server again. If the update is now active, the Updates card no longer shows a restart planned.

If the restart doesn't complete

If a scheduled restart fails, strackt tries again on its own. After repeated failed attempts it stops and sends you a notification: Reboot couldn't complete.

What it means: the update is still waiting, so its fixes aren't active yet. Your server keeps running on the version it had.

What you can do:

• Make sure the server is online and not busy, then restart it yourself with Reboot in Settings → General → Danger zone.
• If it still won't restart, contact support. We'll get the restart through with you.

If the server doesn't come back online after a restart, its page shows it as offline and you're notified, as with any outage. If it stays unreachable, see Recover from a lost server.

What to do next

• Set a maintenance window that matches your quietest hours, so restarts happen when nobody notices.
• When a restart shows up, leave it, postpone it once, or restart now.
• Make sure you get notifications so you hear when a restart is scheduled, completes, or can't complete.