Linux Firewalls, Third Edition

To Patch or Not to Patch

When you patch software source code, whether the kernel or not, you change the code to add or remove lines of code based on a patch file created for that software. The patch may be something as simple as a software update or as complex as changing the functionality of the software itself. When a new version of the kernel is released, the kernel maintainers release a full version of the kernel along with a patch file for those wanting to simply update to the next version of the kernel by patching.

When you run a patch to change software functionality, you are, in effect, altering that software from its base state. This involves a trade-off. The trade-off is that from that point forward, to take advantage of the additional ...