rc(1M) rc(1M)
NAME [Toc] [Back]
rc - general purpose sequencer invoked upon entering new run level
SYNOPSIS [Toc] [Back]
/sbin/rc
DESCRIPTION [Toc] [Back]
The rc shell script is the general sequencer invoked upon entering a
new run level via the init N command (where N equals 0-6). The script
/sbin/rc is typically invoked by the corresponding entry in the file
/etc/inittab as follows:
sqnc:123456:wait:/sbin/rc </dev/console >/dev/console 2>&1
/sbin/rc is the startup and shutdown sequencer script. There is only
one sequencer script and it handles all of the sequencer directories.
This script sequences the scripts in the appropriate sequencer
directories in alphabetical order as defined by the shell and invokes
them as either startup or kill scripts.
If a transition from a lower to a higher run level (i.e., init state)
occurs, the start scripts for the new run level and all intermediate
levels between the old and new level are executed. If a transition
from a higher to a lower run level occurs, the kill scripts for the
new run level and all intermediate levels between the old and new
level are executed.
If a start script link (e.g., /sbin/rcN.d/S123test) in sequencer N has
a stop action, the corresponding kill script should be placed in
sequencer N-1 (e.g., /sbin/rcN-1.d/K200test). Actions started in
level N should be stopped in level N-1. This way, a system shutdown
(e.g., transition from level 3 directly to level 0) will result in all
subsystems being stopped.
Start and Kill Scripts [Toc] [Back]
In many cases, a startup script will have both a start and a kill
action. For example, the inetd script starts the Internet daemon in
the start case, and kills that process in the stop case. Instead of
two separate scripts, only one exists, which accepts both the start
and stop arguments and executes the correct code. In some cases, only
a start action will be applicable. If this is the case, and if the
stop action is specified, the script should produce a usage message
and exit with an error. In general, scripts should look at their
arguments and produce error messages if bad arguments are present.
When a script executes properly, it must exit with a return value of
zero. If an error condition exists, the return value must be nonzero.
Naming Conventions [Toc] [Back]
The startup and shutdown scripts (referred to as startup scripts
hereafter) exist in the /sbin/init.d directory, named after the
subsystem they control. For example, the /sbin/init.d/cron script
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controls starting up the cron daemon. The contents of sequencer
directories consist of symbolic links to startup scripts in
/sbin/init.d. These symbolic links must follow a strict naming
convention, as noted in the various fields of this example:
/sbin/rc2.d/S060cron
where the fields are defined as follows:
rc2.d The sequencer directory is numbered to reflect the
run level for which its contents will be executed.
In this case, start scripts in this directory will
be executed upon entering run level 2 from run
level 1, and kill scripts will be executed upon
entering run level 2 from run level 3.
S The first character of a sequencer link name
determines whether the script is executed as a
start script (if the character is S), or as a kill
script (if the character is K).
060 A three digit number is used for sequencing
scripts within the sequencer directory. Scripts
are executed by type (start or kill) in
alphabetical order as defined by the shell.
Although it is not recommended, two scripts may
share the same sequence number.
cron The name of the startup script follows the
sequence number. The startup script name must be
the same name as the script to which this
sequencer entry is linked. In this example, the
link points to /sbin/init.d/cron.
Note that short file name systems require file
names of 14 or less characters. This means that
the fourth field is limited to 10 or fewer
characters.
Scripts are executed in alphabetical order. The
entire file name of the script is used for
alphabetical ordering purposes.
When ordering start and kill script links, note
that subsystems started in any given order should
be stopped in the reverse order to eliminate any
dependencies between subsystems. This means that
kill scripts will generally not have the same
numbers as their start script counterparts. For
example, if two subsystems must be started in a
given order due to dependencies (e.g., S111house
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followed by S222uses_house), the kill counterparts
to these scripts must be numbered so that the
subsystems are stopped in the opposite order in
which they were started (e.g., K555uses_house
followed by K777house).
Also keep in mind that kill scripts for a start
script in directory /sbin/rcN.d will reside in
/sbin/rc(N-1).d. For example,
/sbin/rc3.d/S123homer and /sbin/rc2.d/K654homer
might be start/kill counterparts.
Arguments [Toc] [Back]
The startup/shutdown scripts should be able to recognize the following
four arguments (where applicable):
start The start argument is passed to scripts whose
names start with S. Upon receiving the start
argument, the script should perform its start
actions.
stop The stop argument is passed to scripts whose names
start with K. Upon receiving the stop argument,
the script should perform its stop actions.
start_msg The start_msg argument is passed to scripts whose
names start with S so that the script can report
back a short message indicating what the start
action will do. For instance, when the lp spooler
script is invoked with a start_msg argument, it
echoes
Starting the LP subsystem [Toc] [Back]
This string is used by the startup routines.
Scripts given just the start_msg argument will
only print a message and not perform any actions.
stop_msg The stop_msg argument is passed to scripts whose
names start with K so that the script can report
back a short message indicating what the stop
action will do. For instance, when the lp spooler
script is invoked with a stop_msg argument, it
echoes
Stopping the LP subsystem [Toc] [Back]
This string is used by the shutdown checklist.
Scripts given just the stop_msg argument will only
print a message and not perform any actions.
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Script Output [Toc] [Back]
To ensure proper reporting of startup events, startup scripts are
required to comply with the following guidelines for script output.
+ Status messages, such as
starting house daemon
must be directed to stdout. All error messages must be
directed to stderr.
+ Script output, both stdout and stderr, is redirected to log
file /etc/rc.log, unless the startup checklist mode is set to
the raw mode. In this case, all output goes to the console.
All error messages should be echoed to stdout or stderr.
+ Startup scripts are not allowed to send messages directly to
the console, or to start any daemons that immediately write to
the console. This restriction exists because these scripts
are now started by the /sbin/rc checklist wrapper. All script
output should go to either stdout or stderr, and thus be
captured in a log file. Any console output will be garbled.
+ When a startup script returns an exit code of 3, /sbin/rc can
display a specific message on the console prior to rebooting
the system. This is achieved by creating a text file named
/etc/rc.bootmsg containing the text to be displayed to the
console. Note that /sbin/rc deletes this file after
displaying the message, so startup scripts need to write this
file each time a specific message is required to be displayed
on console prior to reboot.
RETURN VALUE [Toc] [Back]
The return values for startup scripts are as follows:
0 Script exited without error.
1 Script encountered errors.
2 Script was skipped due to overriding control variables from
/etc/rc.config.d files, or for other reasons, and did not
actually do anything.
3 Script will automatically reboot the system.
4 Script exited without error and started a process in
background mode.
>4 For return values greater than 4 the action is same as
return value 1, script encountered errors.
SEE ALSO [Toc] [Back]
init(1M), shutdown(1M), inittab(4), rc.config(4).
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