init scrips always start a service?

[dE_logics]

[Mike Hunt]

This might help to understand how init works.

On some linux flavors id:3:initdefault: will point at the /etc/rc3.d folder. On Gentoo it points at the /etc/runlevels/default folder.

[dE_logics]

I quoted that line cause service was first referred there.

My question is...if suppose a service has been started, will it continue to work as long as the system is on? (unless under some sorts disaster, or you manually shut it down etc...).

[Veldrin]

There are 2 aspects.

For one, boot runlevels services are executed before the other runlevels (read: default runlevel) get started.

And yes, as long as no disaster happens, the service continues to run. Running does not necessary mean that that is has to use CPU cycles, but it is available to receive commands (i.e apache webserver, postfix mailserver). There are other services that do not really run, but need to be started, to set the system into a defined start (udev, localmount, net.X to name a few).

But there is also the possibility that some server might crash, due to a software error. In that case I will stop working.
And if you change the binaries running that service, it is not guaranteed, that it will continue to run. I might not even crash eve

cheers
V.

[dE_logics]

Hummm...as I expected.

Thanks.