Changing the /etc/inittab file

The /etc/init program starts during the last phase of kernel initialization and has a ``process id'' (PID) of ``1''. The init process starts all other processes. The /etc/inittab file contains instructions for init. The init program reads the inittab file under three circumstances: at boot time, when an init-started process completes, and when the system administrator executes either the /etc/init or /bin/telinit command with a run-level argument. The arguments passed to init allow you to change the system run level or force init to examine the inittab file without changing the run level. When the system changes run levels, init scans inittab for instructions that apply to the new state.

The inittab file is made up of entries that contain four fields separated by colons:

label:run_level:action:process

inittab fields

Field	Description
label	a unique identification label of up to four characters
run_level	the init level at which the entry is executed
action	a keyword indicating the action that init is to take on the process
process	the process init executes upon entering the specified run level

If there is more than one run level specified for an inittab entry, the levels appear in the second field without separators. If the run level field is empty, the entry is executed in all numeric run levels (0-6). When the run level changes, any process that does not have an entry for the new run level receives a warning signal (15). If the process does not terminate after 5 seconds, it receives a kill signal (9). The current state of the init process determines how it executes the inittab entry.

When the init program is initially invoked, it scans inittab for entries that contain the action keywords described in ``inittab single-user keywords''. These entries are executed only during init's boot-time read of inittab.

inittab single-user keywords

Keyword	Description
boot	starts the process and continues to the next entry without waiting for the process to complete. When the process dies, init does not restart the process.
bootwait	starts the process once and waits for it to terminate before going on to the next inittab entry.
initdefault	determines which init level to enter initially, using the highest number in the ``run_level'' field. If the ``run_level'' field is empty, init interprets the run level as 0123456 and enters run level 6. If there is no initdefault entry in inittab, then init requests an initial run level from the user at boot time.
sysinit	starts the process the first time init reads the table and waits for it to terminate before going on to the next inittab entry. Entries with the sysinit keyword are executed before init tries to access the console.

When the run level changes from single-user to a numeric run level (0-6), init scans entries with the actions in ``inittab run_level field keywords'' and executes only those entries with the appropriate ``run_level'' field set.

inittab run_level field keywords

Keyword	Description
off	sends a warning signal, waits 5 seconds, then sends the kill signal to the process if it is currently running. If the process is not running, it ignores the inittab entry.
once	starts the process and continues to the next entry without waiting for the process to complete. When the process dies, init does not restart the process.
ondemand	is functionally identical to respawn; the ondemand keyword is used only with the a, b, or c run-level values.
respawn	starts the process if it is not currently running and continues to the next entry without waiting for it to complete; restarts the process when it dies. If the process is already running, init ignores the inittab entry.
wait	starts the process and waits for it to complete before going on to the next inittab entry.

If the system hardware is capable of detecting power failure and init receives a power failure signal, init executes entries containing the actions shown in ``inittab powerfail keywords'' if the run level is appropriate.

inittab powerfail keywords

Keyword	Description
powerfail	starts the process once and continues to the next entry without waiting for the process to complete.
powerwait	starts the process once and waits for the process to complete before going on to the next entry in the table.

In the following example, the inittab entry sets the default run level for the system to single-user mode when init is initially invoked:

   is:S:initdefault:

You can configure your system to come up in multiuser mode by editing this inittab entry, changing the ``S'' in the run-level field to a ``2''.

The following inittab entry runs the /etc/bcheckrc script when the system is booted (or rebooted) and waits for the process to complete before processing the next entry. (The bcheckrc script checks the filesystems and sets the date.)

   bchk::sysinit:/etc/bcheckrc </dev/console >/dev/console 2>&1

The following example inittab entry tells init to start a getty process (if one does not already exist) for tty01 (the console) at 9600 baud when the current run level is 2:

   co:2:respawn:/etc/getty tty01 sc_m

See the inittab(F) manual page for a detailed description of the format of the inittab file and an explanation of the action keywords.

To make your changes to inittab effective immediately, execute the telinit Q command. This command causes init to reexamine the modified inittab file without changing the run level.