Chapter 14. System Configuration and Startup Scripts


IN THIS CHAPTER

  • Understanding the FreeBSD Startup Process

  • Resource Configuration Scripts

  • The inetd Daemon and the inetd.conf Configuration File

  • The System Logger (syslogd) and the syslog.conf File

  • Notes on the /etc/rc.local File

You saw a brief discussion of the process of starting up your FreeBSD system in Chapter 4, "Booting and Shutting Down FreeBSD." That chapter gave a basic description of what's going on behind the scenes during each cryptic phase of startupenough to enable you to boot the system under standard operating conditions. In this chapter we will expand on the earlier rudimentary coverage to give you a fuller understanding of what each startup phase does and how to control it.

You might have come to FreeBSD from a Linux background; if so, you'll already be familiar with the mechanics of a UNIX-style system startup procedure. However, there are a number of aspects of FreeBSD's startup process that might be unfamiliar even to a veteran. For example, you won't have the handy fsck progress meter or the neatly formatted check boxes for each launched component that are available in some distributions of Linux, and the FreeBSD boot manager operates quite differently from GRUB and LILO (the boot loaders widely used in Linux). Neither does FreeBSD have the large variety of selectable run levels that Linux and Solaris have (where the system can be brought up into any of several different modes, with more or fewer services running, usually for the purpose of troubleshooting or administrative tasks). Because FreeBSD's startup model is simpler and more direct than on these other systems, it can be easier to understand and maintainbut it also has pitfalls and complexities that other platforms lack. With a little exploration, though, you'll soon have FreeBSD's startup process fully analyzed and under control.




FreeBSD 6 Unleashed
FreeBSD 6 Unleashed
ISBN: 0672328755
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 355
Authors: Brian Tiemann

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net