9.3. Run levels

A run level is a state of init and the whole system that defines what system services are operating. Run levels are identified by numbers. Some system administrators use run levels to define which subsystems are working, e.g., whether X is running, whether the network is operational, and so on. Others have all subsystems always running or start and stop them individually, without changing run levels, since run levels are too coarse for controlling their systems. You need to decide for yourself, but it might be easiest to follow the way your Linux distribution does things.

The following table defines how most Linux Distributions define the different run levels. However, run-levels 2 through 5 can be modified to suit your own tastes.

Services that get started at a certain runtime are determined by the contents of the various rcN.d directories. Most distributions locate these directories either at /etc/init.d/rcN.d or /etc/rcN.d. (Replace the N with the run-level number.)

In each run-level you will find a series of if links pointing to start-up scripts located in /etc/init.d. The names of these links all start as either K or S, followed by a number. If the name of the link starts with an S, then that indicates the service will be started when you go into that run level. If the name of the link starts with a K, the service will be killed (if running).

# ls -l /etc/init.d/rc3.d
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root 10 2004-11-29 22:09 K12nfsboot -> ../nfsboot
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root  6 2005-03-29 13:42 K15xdm -> ../xdm
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root  9 2004-11-29 22:08 S01pcmcia -> ../pcmcia
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root  9 2004-11-29 22:06 S01random -> ../random
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root 11 2005-03-01 11:56 S02firewall -> ../firewall
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root 10 2004-11-29 22:34 S05network -> ../network
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root  9 2004-11-29 22:07 S06syslog -> ../syslog
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root 10 2004-11-29 22:09 S08portmap -> ../portmap
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root  9 2004-11-29 22:07 S08resmgr -> ../resmgr
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root  6 2004-11-29 22:09 S10nfs -> ../nfs
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root 12 2004-11-29 22:40 S12alsasound -> ../alsasound
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root  8 2004-11-29 22:09 S12fbset -> ../fbset
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root  7 2004-11-29 22:10 S12sshd -> ../sshd
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root  8 2005-02-01 09:24 S12xntpd -> ../xntpd
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root  7 2004-12-02 20:34 S13cups -> ../cups
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root  6 2004-11-29 22:09 S13kbd -> ../kbd
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root 13 2004-11-29 22:10 S13powersaved -> ../powersaved
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root  9 2004-11-29 22:09 S14hwscan -> ../hwscan
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root  7 2004-11-29 22:10 S14nscd -> ../nscd
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root 10 2004-11-29 22:10 S14postfix -> ../postfix
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root  6 2005-02-04 13:27 S14smb -> ../smb
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root  7 2004-11-29 22:10 S15cron -> ../cron
lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root  8 2004-12-22 20:35 S15smbfs -> ../smbfs

l2:2:wait:/etc/init.d/rc 2

The command in the fourth field does all the hard work of setting up a run level. It starts services that aren't already running, and stops services that shouldn't be running in the new run level any more. Exactly what the command is, and how run levels are configured, depends on the Linux distribution.

id:2:initdefault:

While the system is running, the telinit command can change the run level. When the run level is changed, init runs the relevant command from /etc/inittab.