BSD start services
FreeBSD (and NetBSD) stores all service related scripts that stop, start or restart services under /etc/rc.d or /usr/local/etc/rc.d/ directory. From these directories, you can start/stop any network or other system related services. General syntax:
/etc/rc.d/service-name {start} {stop} {status} {reload} {forceXXX} {rcvar}
Where option can be use as follows,
- start : Start a service
- stop : Stop a service
- status : Get status of a service such as if service is running or not
- reload : Reload a service, useful when you make any changes to configuration files
- forceXXX : To start, stop or restart a service regardless of the settings in /etc/rc.conf (see below for more info), the commands should be prefixed with "force". For instance to restart sshd regardless of the current /etc/rc.conf setting, you can use forcerestart (replace XXX with start, stop or restart)
- rcvar : Tells if service will be automatically starts when FreeBSD comes up (boot ups) i.e. to to check if a service is enabled in /etc/rc.conf or not.
Examples:
Start sshd service:
# /etc/rc.d/sshd start
Stop sshd service:
# /etc/rc.d/sshd stop
Restart sshd service:
# /etc/rc.d/sshd restart
However, service will not start, stop or restart if it is not configured in /etc/rc.conf file. For instance to restart sshd regardless of the current /etc/rc.conf setting, you can use forcerestart as follows:
# /etc/rc.d/sshd forcerestart
Or just start regardless of the current /etc/rc.conf setting
# /etc/rc.d/sshd forcestart
Or just stop regardless of the current /etc/rc.conf setting
# /etc/rc.d/sshd forcestop
More on /etc/rc.conf file
All freebsd services usually started automatically as specified in rc.conf. For example, enabling the SSHD daemon at startup is as simple as adding the following line to /etc/rc.conf:
sshd_enable="YES"
However, you can also use sysinstall command to add services that can start automatically as specified below:
1) Start sysinstall by typing sysinstall
# sysinstall
2) Select Configure
3) Select Startup
4) Select the service you wish to start automatically by pressing space bar
5) When done select Ok and Exit to shell prompt
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You may also be interested in other helpful articles:
- FreeBSD How to restart inetd service / daemon
- Poll: Your Remote Maintenance Services
- Ubuntu / Debian Linux: Services Configuration Tool to Start / Stop System Services
- FreeBSD: How To Start / Restart / Stop Network and Routing Service
- Find and Control All Hidden Running Services on MS Windows Server 2003 / Vista / XP System
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Very informative I also find official Handbook quite helpful too
I don’t wanna troll but like to know who is using FreeBSD these days?
Troll indeed. Take a look at netcraft. FreeBSD is alive and well in the server market.