I’ve always been cheap and handled patching of Red Hat systems myself, usually by keeping a local mirror of the updates tree. I recently started using the Red Hat network - $5US per machine per month - to keep about 10 machines in order.

It’s completely web based. I get an email when a patch is out of date. A couple of clicks, and a system is updated. At any time I can check the status of my machines, and see if they are up to date, or even install new software. Why have I been wasting my time before?

Plus, as a coworker points out, it’s giving money to Red Hat, which is a Good Thing (no, I’m not a shareholder).

If you’re installing Red Hat, I’d suggest signing up to RHN. Your first machine is free, so you’ve got little to lose.