LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition

Chapter 26. System Startup

This Topic focuses on the system boot processes and recovery procedures. LPI's Level 1 Objectives covered general booting material such as runlevels, the init utility, and how the system boots. At Level 2, LPICs are expected to be able to customize a system's startup procedures and recover a system when it is not booting properly.

This Topic contains two Objectives:

Objective 1: Customizing System Startup and Boot Processes

Candidates should be able to edit appropriate system startup scripts to customize standard system runlevels and boot processes. This Objective includes interacting with runlevels and creating custom initrd images as needed. Weight: 2.

Objective 2: System Recovery

Candidates should be able to properly manipulate a Linux system both during the boot process and during recovery mode. This objective includes using both the init utility and init= kernel options. Weight: 3.

Objective 1: Customizing System Startup and Boot Processes

In Chapter 14, we discussed boot procedures for a Linux system. Specifically, we covered boot-time kernel parameters, boot initialization scripts, and how to change system runlevels. The 201 exam takes this subject a step further and addresses how to customize your system's startup procedures.

When the kernel has mounted the root filesystem, it executes /sbin/init. This program's first task is to read /etc/inittab, which defines everything done thereafter.

/etc/inittab

The /etc/inittab file describes what processes ...