The BOS Server performs two types of scheduled restarts: a general restart and a new binary restart. During a general restart, the BOS Server first restarts itself (using a new binary file, if one exists); it then restarts all other server processes on its machine that have a status flag of Run in the BosConfig file. It is recommended that the general restart time be set as a weekly time; by default, the BOS Server performs this type of restart weekly, on Sunday at 4:00 a.m.
During a new binary restart, the BOS Server checks for newly installed binary files. Binary files are installed on Binary Distribution machines with the bos install command, after which they are propagated to other machines by the Update Server. If a new version of a process's binary file was installed in dcelocal/bin after the process last started on the server machine, the BOS Server restarts the process so that the new instance of the binary file is used. It is recommended that the new binary restart time be specified as a daily time; by default, the BOS Server executes this type of restart daily, at 5:00 a.m.
The default general and new binary restart times are set for early morning, when system usage is typically lowest. The BosConfig file on every server machine records the two restart times. This is a local file, so the information can be different for different machines. You can check and reset both time settings with the bos getrestart and bos setrestart commands.
You can set a restart time as a day and time or as just a time. When including a day, specify the day first, in lowercase letters; you can enter the entire name or just the first three letters (for example, sunday or sun). When indicating a time, separate hours from minutes with a : (colon); you can use 24-hour time or 1:00 through 12:00 with am or pm (for example, 14:30 or "2:30 pm"). You must enclose the entire entry in " " (double quotes) if it contains spaces (for example, "2:30 pm" or "sun 14:30").
You can also set a restart time as never or now. The setting never indicates that the BOS Server does not perform the indicated type of restart. For a restart time, the setting now is equivalent to specifying the current day and time.
Caution: Never edit the restart times in the BosConfig file directly; use the bos setrestart command only. If you edit the restart times directly, the BOS Server does not recognize the new times until it is restarted and again reads the BosConfig file.
More:
Checking the Current Restart Times
Setting the General Restart Time
Setting the New Binary Restart Time