Originally Posted by
Loren Pechtel
I do agree--if it's got a processor it will need a reboot someday. (My wackiest one to date: a pair of routers connecting the networks between two cities--this before the days of VPNs. Reset one--not fixed. Reset the other--not fixed. We finally figured out that they were corrupting each other, they had to be shut down at the same time, then brought back up.) I don't mind loading updates, I do mind the surprise reboots. There's half a dozen things that have to be shut down manually to save state data.) I wouldn't mind if once the time limit is up that restart simply loaded the update. (Shutdown is another matter--on laptop systems Windows will know if it's on battery, but on desktops it won't know it's on UPS.)
I'm assuming you're using vmware player or some variant (pro?). Maybe set it up on a linux box. Then you can avoid the host rebooting (not counting power/hardware failures) outside of your control (although I would recommend a proper reboot every few months just to ensure security patching is done). Now, if one of the VMs you're running is Windows, there's not much I can suggest to fix that other than to turn on the notification and pray. That said, I do recommend you set up a reminder for patch week if you have any important windows systems. You might not be able to patch it within a reasonable period of time, but at least you're aware of it and can hopefully perform the reboot properly.