Linux - Inittab (/etc/inittab)

About

System V init examines the /etc/inittab file for an :initdefault: entry, which tells init whether there is a default runlevel. If there is no default runlevel, then the user is dumped to a system console, where a runlevel must be entered manually.

The inittab file describes which processes are started at bootup.

Articles Related

Entry Example

es:2345:respawn:/bin/su - <endeca_user> -c "/absolute/path/to/start.sh"

where:

• es is the inittab entry identifier.
• 2345 lists the runlevels for which the specified action should be taken.
• respawn is the action to be taken, which is that the process will be restarted whenever it terminates.
• /bin/su specifies the process to be executed. In this case, a non-root user will run the start.sh command.
• -c start.sh specifies that the start.sh command will be run, using the absolute path to the command.

Documentation / Reference

• wiki/Init