Creating a service on redhat linux / Oracle enterprise linux

Question

How to start a certain application automatically for example at startup of the machine, it is required to define it as a service.

Well ...

This can be achieved 4 rather easy steps:

• Create a script that performs everything required to start and stop the application, including the setting of the environment;
  
• Save the script in the /etc/init.d directory
• Give the script the permissions to execute
  chmod u+x
• install the service
  chkconfig --add

The tricks are inside the script.

Start and Stop logic in the script
When a service is started the start keyword is passed as parameter $1 to the script. When the service is stopped the stop keyword is passed.

Runlevel and Runorder arguments
In the script a lines identify at what runlevel and in which sequence the service should be started or stopped.

#chkconfig: 2345 80 05

This line is composed of the chkconfig keyword followed by three paramters:

• the first indicates at what runlevels the service should be started
• the second indicates what the priority is (scriptsequence) at startup
• the third indicates the priority when stopping

Description of the service

To set the description of the service enter a line like the following in the script

#description: Oracle 8 Server

Further details

• description of chkconfig (man)
• managing chkconfig on redhat
  
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