
To start a systemd service, executing instructions in the service’s unit file, use the start command. service suffix, as systemd is smart enough to know that you probably want to operate on a service when using service management commands. However, for most service management commands, you can actually leave off the. The type of each unit can be inferred from the suffix on the end of the file.įor service management tasks, the target unit will be service units, which have unit files with a suffix of. Units are categorized by the type of resource they represent and they are defined with files known as unit files. In systemd, the target of most actions are “units”, which are resources that systemd knows how to manage. With that in mind, we will start with some basic service management operations. The init system is also used to manage services and daemons for the server at any point while the system is running.

The fundamental purpose of an init system is to initialize the components that must be started after the Linux kernel is booted (traditionally known as “userland” components). As you go through this tutorial, if your terminal outputs the error bash: systemctl is not installed then it is likely that your machine has a different init system installed.

Please note that although systemd has become the default init system for many Linux distributions, it isn’t implemented universally across all distros. We will cover how to manage services, check statuses, change system states, and work with the configuration files. In this guide, we will be discussing the systemctl command, which is the central management tool for controlling the init system. Learning about and using the tools and daemons that comprise systemd will help you better appreciate the power, flexibility, and capabilities it provides, or at least help you to do your job with less hassle. Due to its heavy adoption, familiarizing yourself with systemd is well worth the trouble, as it will make administering servers considerably easier.

Systemd is an init system and system manager that has widely become the new standard for Linux distributions.
