Running Additional Programs At Boot Time - Red Hat ENTERPRISE LINUX 4.5.0 Reference Manual

Chapter 1. Boot Process, Init...
Tip
After the system is finished booting, it is possible to log in as root and execute
these same scripts to start and stop services. For instance, the command
/etc/rc.d/init.d/httpd stop
Each of the symbolic links are numbered to dictate start order. The order in which the services
are started or stopped can be altered by changing this number. The lower the number, the
earlier it is started. Symbolic links with the same number are started alphabetically.
Note
One of the last things the
file. This file is useful for system customization. Refer to
Additional Programs at Boot Time"
rc.local
After the command has progressed through the appropriate
init
the script forks an
/etc/inittab
prompt) allocated to the runlevel. Runlevels 2 through 5 have all six virtual consoles, while
runlevel 1 (single user mode) has one, and runlevels 0 and 6 have none. The
process opens communication pathways to tty devices
prompt, accepts the user's username and password, and initiates the login process.
In runlevel 5, the
/etc/inittab
executes the preferred X display manager
the
/etc/sysconfig/desktop
Once finished, the system operates on runlevel 5 and displays a login screen.

3. Running Additional Programs at Boot Time

The
/etc/rc.d/rc.local
changing runlevels. Adding commands to the bottom of this script is an easy way to perform
necessary tasks like starting special services or initialize devices without writing complex
initialization scripts in the
The
/etc/rc.serial
2
Refer to Section 3.11, " /proc/tty/
3
Refer to Section 5.2, "Runlevel 5"
8
init
file.
/sbin/mingetty
runs a script called
3
—
file.
script is executed by the
/etc/rc.d/init.d/
script is used if serial ports must be setup at boot time. This script runs
" for more information about
for more information about display managers.
stops the Apache HTTP Server.
program executes is the
for more information about using the
rc
process for each virtual console (login
2
, sets their modes, prints the login
/etc/X11/prefdm
, , or , depending on the contents of
gdm kdm xdm
command at boot time or when
init
directory and creating symbolic links.
tty devices.
/etc/rc.d/rc.local
Section 3, "Running
directory for the runlevel,
/sbin/mingetty
. The script
prefdm