RE: Redhat's Errata Alert and update system

> Can someone explain how this service from Redhat works.

I've been using it pretty regularly for about 2 years and love it.

> 1) Is there a process (what is the name) that runs on the server
> that polls the redhat site for updates, that I have marked through
> the alert system to download patches/fixes...etc. (that is my guess);

Yes, it's called rhnsd. Minimum "check-in" time is 2 hours - your system
will poll RedHat to see if any updates are available, but you have to
manually log in to RHN's web site (https://rhn.redhat.com) to tell RedHat to
automatically patch your system the next time the system checks in.

> 2) what are the security implications of this process constantly running?;

None I'm aware of.

> 3) My machine reboots every now and then - is there related to
> this service? Why the reboots?

Nope, I've never had a system reboot by using rhnsd.

> If it is not related to the service,
> then can someone suggest a way for me to diagnos why my
> machine is rebooting every-now-and-then?

Yeah, check /var/log/messages

-id