System Administration Guide
Appendix A, Customizing UNIX system startup
Changing scripts in /etc/rc2.d

Changing scripts in /etc/rc2.d

Upon entering init state 2 (multiuser mode) from either a higher init state (3-6) or from single-user mode, init executes the /etc/rc2 script according to the instructions in /etc/inittab. The rc2 script sets certain environment variables and runs scripts in the /etc/rc2.d directory. Some of the scripts in rc2.d run scripts in subdirectories of the rc.d directory.

This section describes the scripts in the /etc/rc2.d directory that are run by rc2 and explains the steps for adding your own script. The rc2(ADM) manual page describes the other scripts that rc2 runs.

Table A-5 gives a brief description of some of the scripts in /etc/rc2.d. 

Table A-5 /etc/rc2.d scripts

 ---------------------------------------------------
 Script          Description
 ---------------------------------------------------
 S00MDAC         starts Mylex disk array monitor
 P00SYSINIT      starts kernel message logger
 S00VDISK        configures virtual disk arrays
 I01MOUNTFSYS    mounts filesystems specified in
                 /etc/default/filesys 
 P03RECOVERY     tidies up vi editing sessions after
                 a crash
 P04CLEAN        removes temporary files
 P05RMTMPFILES   removes temporary files
 P15HWDNLOAD     downloads hardware
 P16KERNINIT     starts, process accounting,
                 network, and other kernel
                 initialization
 P20sysetup      configures print system and
                 generates /etc/systemid 
 P21perf         starts system accounting
 S25pm           starts power management event
                 routing and servicing daemon
 S35dlpi         configures the network card driver
                 interface
 P70uucp         cleans up UUCP lock files
 P75cron         starts cron daemon
 S80lp           starts lpsched and net utilities
 S85tcp          starts TCP/IP, name service, and
                 routing
 P86mmdf         starts mmdf deliver daemon
 P86scologin     starts scologin 
 P87USRDAEMON    starts user daemons
 P88USRDEFINE    executes user-definable commands
                 after boot
 S89hostmib      starts host MIB service
 S89nfs          starts NFS service
 P90RESERVED     mails fsck output saved during
                 autoboot to root 
 S93scohttpd     starts SCOhelp daemon
 S95calserver    starts calendar daemon
 S99apcssd       starts UPS port monitor
The /etc/rc2.d directory on your system may contain scripts other than the ones listed in the table. This is because during installation, many add-on programs insert their own daemon-initialization scripts in this directory. This directory may also include scripts that clean up the temporary or lock files for an add-on program.

You can write your own scripts to run when the system enters init state 2. For example, you can write a script that sets up a RAM disk or starts a network and add it to /etc/rc2.d. 

The following factors should be considered when writing a system startup script to be placed in rc2.d :

To add a function to the initialization procedure: 

  1. Write a script that performs the desired function.

  2. Test the script to make certain it behaves as expected. Be sure any environment variables used in the script are defined at startup.

  3. Name the file so that it begins with the uppercase letter ``P'', ``S'', ``I'', or ``K'' followed by a two-digit number indicating the order in which it should be executed relative to the other files in the directory, and ends with a name that describes the script's function. For example, S80lp handles print service startup. It will be executed after any script that begins with S79, and before any that begins with S81. You must follow this naming convention to ensure that your script is executed at the proper time.

    Note that a set of scripts whose names start with P77, P78, and P79 will be executed concurrently. S80lp will not start until they have all exited.

  4. Copy the script into the /etc/rc2.d directory so that it is executed by rc2 when the system enters (or leaves) multiuser mode.
If the function that you want to add is in the same category as functions performed by a script already located in /etc/rc2.d, simply edit the existing script to add the new function. For example, you can add a function related to UUCP to the file P70uucp. You can also edit any script to tailor it to your needs. For example, to start process accounting, remove the appropriate comments from the P16KERNINIT file. Remember to back up the original script before modifying it.