How long does this boot-up take already???

In an off-topic discussion in one of my groups, we sort of got into one of those Linux vs. Windows issues, which is really unfair to Windows, but that's not my point here.  Yes, in case you didn't know it already, I am a huge fan of free software, and I use CentOS (http://centos.org) on most of my computers.

One of the issues I usually point out in this regard is the difference in perceived boot-up time between Windows and Linux.  My usual comment on this is that it usually takes longer for Linux to boot than Windows, or at least it looks that way.

The caveat here is that Windows does not really boot up as fast as it appears to because, in fact, after it looks like it has come up to your login screen and is waiting for you to log in, it is actually still doing a lot of background task initiation behind the scenes.  There's also the incredibly long Windows log in time, which is longer for every icon on your desktop, every element in your quick launch bar and every tool running in the background, especially the ones you can see in the notification bar.  (If you don't believe me, run the task manager, enable it to see all users and count the number of processes that are running, or watch it go.  Better yet, add it to your startup group and watch how long it takes after you log in before the activity dies down to mostly idle.  You'll be amazed.)

With that long winded intro aside, today I was notified of a new kernel for my CentOS installation.  I updated to the new kernel and timed both the boot sequence (from the point where the screen went blank, which is actually a second or two before the real reset occurs, to the login screen).  The last kernel came down on December 15, almost a whole month ago.

Boot time: 2:46 (yep, two minutes and forty-six seconds)
Login time: 0:21

I should add that the boot time was slightly longer than a simple reboot because I have a couple of modules in my kernel that are automatically rebuilt when a new kernel is installed, and this can take a fair number of seconds to perform during the boot (I didn't time that part).

On the other hand, I haven't needed to reboot since 12/15/09, including at least a hundred other updates that I've installed since then....

I now return you to your regularly scheduled program.  :-)