init(8)
- NetBSD Manual Pages
INIT(8) NetBSD System Manager's Manual INIT(8)
NAME
init - process control initialization
SYNOPSIS
init
DESCRIPTION
The init program is the last stage of the boot process (after the kernel
loads and initializes all the devices). It normally begins multi-user
operation.
The following table describes the state machine used by init:
1. Single user shell. init may be passed -s from the boot program to
prevent the system from going multi-user and to instead execute a
single user shell without starting the normal daemons. The system
is then quiescent for maintenance work and may later be made to go
to state 2 (multi-user) by exiting the single-user shell (with ^D).
2. Multi-user boot (default operation). Executes /etc/rc (see rc(8)).
If this was the first state entered (as opposed to entering here
after state 1), then /etc/rc will be invoked with its first argument
being `autoboot'. If /etc/rc exits with a non-zero (error) exit
code, commence single user operation by giving the super-user a
shell on the console by going to state 1 (single user). Otherwise,
proceed to state 3.
3. Set up ttys as specified in ttys(5). See below for more informa-
tion. On completion, continue to state 4.
4. Multi-user operation. Depending upon the signal received, change
state appropriately; on SIGTERM, go to state 7; on SIGHUP, go to
state 5; on SIGTSTP, go to state 6.
5. Clean-up mode; re-read ttys(5), killing off the controlling pro-
cesses on lines that are now `off', and starting processes that are
newly `on'. On completion, go to state 4.
6. `Boring' mode; no new sessions. Signals as per state 4.
7. Shutdown mode. Send SIGHUP to all controlling processes, reap the
processes for 30 seconds, and the go to state 1 (single user); warn-
ing if not all the processes died.
If the `console' entry in the ttys(5) file is marked ``insecure'', then
init will require that the superuser password be entered before the sys-
tem will start a single-user shell. The password check is skipped if the
`console' is marked as ``secure''.
The kernel runs with four different levels of security. Any superuser
process can raise the security level, but only init can lower it.
The security level mechanism is intended to allow the administrator to
protect the persistent code and data on the system, or a subset thereof,
from modification, even by the superuser. In order for this protection
to be effective, the administrator must ensure that no program that is
run while the security level is 0 or lower, nor any data or configuration
file used by any such program, can be modified while the security level
is greater than 0. This may be achieved through the careful use of the
``immutable'' file flag to define and protect a Trusted Computing Base
(TCB) consisting of all such programs and data, or by ensuring that all
such programs and data are on filesystems that are mounted read-only and
running at security level 2 or higher. Particular care must be taken to
ensure, if relying upon security level 1 and the use of file flags, that
the integrity of the TCB cannot be compromised through the use of
modifications to the disklabel or access to overlapping disk partitions,
including the raw partition.
Do not overlook the fact that shell scripts (or anything else fed to an
interpreter, through any mechanism) and the kernel itself are "programs
that run while the security level is 0" and must be considered part of
the TCB.
Security levels are defined as follows:
-1 Permanently insecure mode - always run system in level 0 mode.
0 Insecure mode - immutable and append-only flags may be changed.
All devices may be read or written subject to their permissions.
1 Secure mode - system immutable and system append-only flags may not
be turned off; disks for mounted filesystems, /dev/mem, and
/dev/kmem are read-only.
The verified exec in-kernel fingerprint table may not be changed
(see veriexecctl(8)).
2 Highly secure mode - same as secure mode, plus disks are always
read-only whether mounted or not, new disks may not be mounted, and
existing mounts may only be downgraded from read-write to read-
only. This level precludes tampering with filesystems by unmount-
ing them, but also inhibits running newfs(8) while the system is
multi-user.
The settimeofday(2) system call can only advance the time.
The state of ipf(8) (the in-kernel IP filtering facility) may not
be changed.
Users may not change the per-process core name template format,
only the default can be changed.
Downgrading from highly secure mode to insecure mode (that is, to
single-user mode) always requires the root password to be entered
on the console, whether the console is marked as ``secure'' in
/etc/ttys or not.
Normally, the system runs in level 0 mode while single user and in level
1 mode while multi-user. If the level 2 mode is desired while running
multi-user, it can be set in the startup script /etc/rc using sysctl(8).
If it is desired to run the system in level 0 mode while multi-user, the
administrator must build a kernel with options INSECURE in the kernel
configuration file, which initializes the kernel's securelevel variable
to -1. See options(4) and config(8) for details.
In multi-user operation, init maintains processes for the terminal ports
found in the file ttys(5). init reads this file, and executes the com-
mand found in the second field. This command is usually getty(8); it
opens and initializes the tty line and executes the login(1) program.
The login(1) program, when a valid user logs in, executes a shell for
that user. When this shell dies, either because the user logged out or
an abnormal termination occurred (a signal), the init program wakes up,
deletes the user from the utmp(5) file of current users and records the
logout in the wtmp(5) file. The cycle is then restarted by init execut-
ing a new getty(8) for the line.
Line status (on, off, secure, getty, or window information) may be
changed in the ttys(5) file without a reboot by sending the signal SIGHUP
to init with the command ``kill -s HUP 1''. This is referenced in the
table above as state 5. On receipt of this signal, init re-reads the
ttys(5) file. When a line is turned off in ttys(5), init will send a
SIGHUP signal to the controlling process for the session associated with
the line. For any lines that were previously turned off in the ttys(5)
file and are now on, init executes a new getty(8) to enable a new login.
If the getty or window field for a line is changed, the change takes
effect at the end of the current login session (e.g., the next time init
starts a process on the line). If a line is commented out or deleted
from ttys(5), init will not do anything at all to that line. However, it
will complain that the relationship between lines in the ttys(5) file and
records in the utmp(5) file is out of sync, so this practice is not rec-
ommended.
init will terminate multi-user operations and resume single-user mode if
sent a terminate (TERM) signal, for example, ``kill -s TERM 1''. If
there are processes outstanding that are deadlocked (because of hardware
or software failure), init will not wait for them all to die (which might
take forever), but will time out after 30 seconds and print a warning
message.
init will cease creating new getty(8)'s and allow the system to slowly
die away, if it is sent a terminal stop (TSTP) signal, i.e. ``kill -s
TSTP 1''. A later hangup will resume full multi-user operations, or a
terminate will start a single user shell. This hook is used by reboot(8)
and halt(8).
The role of init is so critical that if it dies, the system will reboot
itself automatically. If, at bootstrap time, the init process cannot be
located, the system will panic with the message ``panic: init died
(signal %d, exit %d)''.
FILES
/dev/console System console device.
/dev/tty* Terminal ports found in ttys(5).
/var/run/utmp Record of Current users on the system.
/var/log/wtmp Record of all logins and logouts.
/etc/ttys The terminal initialization information file.
/etc/rc System startup commands.
DIAGNOSTICS
getty repeating too quickly on port %s, sleeping A process being started
to service a line is exiting quickly each time it is started. This is
often caused by a ringing or noisy terminal line. Init will sleep for 10
seconds, then continue trying to start the process.
some processes would not die; ps axl advised. A process is hung and
could not be killed when the system was shutting down. This condition is
usually caused by a process that is stuck in a device driver because of a
persistent device error condition.
SEE ALSO
kill(1), login(1), sh(1), options(4), ttys(5), config(8), getty(8),
halt(8), rc(8), reboot(8), shutdown(8)
HISTORY
A init command appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX.
BUGS
Systems without sysctl(8) behave as though they have security level -1.
The security level 2 restrictions relating to TCB integrity protection
should be enforced at security level 1. Restrictions dependent upon
security level but not relating to TCB integrity protection should be
selected by sysctl(8) settings available only at security level 0 or
lower.
NetBSD 2.0 February 19, 2004 NetBSD 2.0
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