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systemd
systemd is a modern SysV-style init and rc replacement for Linux systems. It is supported in Gentoo as an alternative init system.
Installation
If updating from <=sys-apps/systemd-203 check the upgrade sub-article.
The core around which all distributions are built is the Linux kernel. It is the layer between the user programs and the system hardware. Gentoo provides its users several possible kernel sources. A full listing with description is available at the Kernel overview page.
For amd64-based systems, Gentoo recommends the sys-kernel/gentoo-sources package.
Choose an appropriate kernel source and install it using emerge:
root #emerge --ask sys-kernel/gentoo-sourcesKernel
systemd makes use of many modern Linux kernel features. Right now, the lower bound on kernel version is set in the ebuild to 2.6.39. In recent versions of sys-kernel/gentoo-sources, there is a convenient way of selecting the mandatory and optional kernel options for systemd (see Kernel/Configuration for further details):
Gentoo Linux ---> Support for init systems, system and service managers ---> [*] systemd
To configure the kernel options manually (which is the only option when not using sys-kernel/gentoo-sources), the following kernel configuration options are required or recommended:
General setup ---> [*] Control Group support ---> [*] Support for eBPF programs attached to cgroup [ ] Enable deprecated sysfs features to support old userspace tools [*] Configure standard kernel features (expert users) ---> [*] open by fhandle syscalls [*] Enable eventpoll support [*] Enable signalfd() system call [*] Enable timerfd() system call [*] Networking support ---> Device Drivers ---> Generic Driver Options ---> [*] Maintain a devtmpfs filesystem to mount at /dev File systems ---> [*] Inotify support for userspace Pseudo filesystems ---> [*] /proc file system support [*] sysfs file system support
General setup ---> [*] Configure standard kernel features (expert users) ---> [*] Checkpoint/restore support [*] Namespaces support ---> [*] Network namespace [*] Enable the block layer ---> [*] Block layer SG support v4 Processor type and features ---> [*] Enable seccomp to safely compute untrusted bytecode Networking support ---> Networking options ---> <*> The IPv6 protocol Device Drivers ---> Generic Driver Options ---> () path to uevent helper [ ] Fallback user-helper invocation for firmware loading Firmware Drivers ---> [*] Export DMI identification via sysfs to userspace File systems ---> <*> Kernel automounter version 4 support (also supports v3) Pseudo filesystems ---> [*] Tmpfs virtual memory file system support (former shm fs) [*] Tmpfs POSIX Access Control Lists [*] Tmpfs extended attributes
For an UEFI system also enable the following:
[*] Enable the block layer ---> Partition Types ---> [*] Advanced partition selection [*] EFI GUID Partition support Processor type and features ---> [*] EFI runtime service support Firmware Drivers ---> EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) Support --> <*> EFI Variable Support via sysfs
If the system is using the BFQ scheduler, it's recommended by BFQ upstream to enable "BFQ hierarchical scheduling support" under "Enable the block layer -> IO Schedulers".
For an up-to-date list, see section "REQUIREMENTS" in the upstream README file.
/etc/mtab
Upstream only supports the /etc/mtab file being a symlink to /proc/self/mounts. Not creating this symlink will also cause problems with mount (bug #434090) and df (bug #477240). In the past some utilities wrote information (like mount options) into /etc/mtab and thus it was supposed to be a regular file. Nowadays all software is supposed to avoid this problem. Still, before switching the file to become a symbolic link, please check bug #477498 to be sure that the system is not affected by any reported regressions.
To create the symlink, run:
root #ln -sf /proc/self/mounts /etc/mtabEnsure /usr is present at boot time
For a split /usr configuration, use an initramfs to mount /usr before starting systemd. For now, this means using sys-kernel/dracut or sys-kernel/genkernel-next until support for /usr is available in sys-kernel/genkernel. Set aside time now to migrate:
root #emerge --ask -c sys-kernel/genkernelroot #emerge --ask sys-kernel/dracutroot #emerge --ask sys-kernel/genkernel-nextWhen using dracut, enable the usrmount module if it is not automatically enabled to mount /usr automatically.
/etc/dracut.conf# Dracut modules to add to the default add_dracutmodules+="usrmount"
When genkernel-next is used, before rebuilding the kernel, be sure to set the UDEV variable in genkernel's configuration file to yes. This will pull /usr into the initramfs:
/etc/genkernel.conf# Use udev instead of mdev as the default device manager for the initramfs. # If systemd and perhaps lvm is used, then this _must_ be turned on. UDEV="yes"
root #genkernel --install allSee the Initramfs guide for more alternatives.
Using LVM and initramfs
When sys-fs/lvm2 is used and the system is booted using an initramfs, the initramfs will have to be created using sys-kernel/genkernel-next by running:
root #genkernel --lvm <target><target> is either initramfs or one of the other genkernel targets which imply the creation of an initramfs. For more information, look at the output of genkernel --help:
user $genkernel --helpWhen LVM is used, the lvmetad daemon needs to be started as well. Otherwise systemd will be unable to mount LVM volumes. lvmetad can be enabled in /etc/lvm/lvm.conf:
/etc/lvm/lvm.confSnippet of required changes in lvm.conf# Set use_lvmetad to '1' for systemd use_lvmetad = 1
Instead of modifying /etc/lvm/lvm.conf this could probably be achieved through a lvmetad.socket unit which activates a lvmetad.service, but current versions of sys-fs/lvm2 don't ship those yet.
USE flags
USE flags for sys-apps/systemd System and service manager for Linux
+dns-over-tls
|
Enable DNS-over-TLS support |
+gcrypt
|
Enable use of dev-libs/libgcrypt for various features |
+kernel-install
|
Enable kernel-install |
+kmod
|
Enable kernel module loading via sys-apps/kmod |
+lz4
|
Enable lz4 compression for the journal |
+openssl
|
Enable use of dev-libs/openssl for various features |
+resolvconf
|
Install resolvconf symlink for systemd-resolve |
+seccomp
|
Enable seccomp (secure computing mode) to perform system call filtering at runtime to increase security of programs |
+sysv-utils
|
Install sysvinit compatibility symlinks and manpages for init, telinit, halt, poweroff, reboot, runlevel, and shutdown |
+zstd
|
Enable support for ZSTD compression |
acl
|
Add support for Access Control Lists |
apparmor
|
Enable support for the AppArmor application security system |
audit
|
Enable support for sys-process/audit |
boot
|
Enable EFI boot manager and stub loader |
bpf
|
Enable BPF support for sandboxing and firewalling. |
cgroup-hybrid
|
Default to hybrid (legacy) cgroup hierarchy instead of unified (modern). |
cryptsetup
|
Enable cryptsetup tools (includes unit generator for crypttab) |
curl
|
Enable support for uploading journals |
elfutils
|
Enable coredump stacktraces in the journal |
fido2
|
Enable FIDO2 support |
gnutls
|
Prefer net-libs/gnutls as SSL/TLS provider (ineffective with USE=-ssl) |
homed
|
Enable portable home directories |
http
|
Enable embedded HTTP server in journald |
idn
|
Enable support for Internationalized Domain Names |
importd
|
Enable import daemon |
iptables
|
Use libiptc from net-firewall/iptables for NAT support in systemd-networkd; this is used only if the running kernel does not support nftables |
lzma
|
Support for LZMA compression algorithm |
pam
|
Add support for PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules) - DANGEROUS to arbitrarily flip |
pcre
|
Add support for Perl Compatible Regular Expressions |
pkcs11
|
Enable PKCS#11 support for cryptsetup and homed |
policykit
|
Enable PolicyKit (polkit) authentication support |
pwquality
|
Enable password quality checking in homed |
qrcode
|
Enable qrcode output support in journal |
secureboot
|
Automatically sign efi executables using user specified key |
selinux
|
!!internal use only!! Security Enhanced Linux support, this must be set by the selinux profile or breakage will occur |
split-usr
|
Enable behavior to support maintaining /bin, /lib*, /sbin and /usr/sbin separately from /usr/bin and /usr/lib* |
test
|
Enable dependencies and/or preparations necessary to run tests (usually controlled by FEATURES=test but can be toggled independently) |
tpm
|
Enable TPM support |
ukify
|
Enable systemd-ukify |
vanilla
|
Disable Gentoo-specific behavior and compatibility quirks |
xkb
|
Depend on x11-libs/libxkbcommon to allow logind to control the X11 keymap |
Profile
Enable the systemd USE flag globally (in make.conf). The consolekit USE flag should also be disabled to prevent conflicts with the systemd-logind service. It is also possible to switch to a systemd subprofile to use saner USE flags defaults in which case it is not necessary to change make.conf:
root #eselect profile listFinally update the system with the new profile:
root #emerge -avDN @worldWhen dependency problems occur (such as sys-fs/udev blocking sys-apps/systemd), sys-fs/udev might be registered in the world file. Try to resolve this by deselecting it:
sys-apps/systemd contains udev. Once installed, sys-fs/udev can be removed as systemd will be the provider for the virtual/udev requirement.
root #emerge --deselect sys-fs/udevBootloader
In order to run systemd, switch the init that the executable kernel (or the initramfs) uses.
The services that are set up for the previous service manager will not be automatically started. This is because the system is switching to a different service manager. In order to obtain back the functionality like networking or a login manager, these services will need to be enabled again. More information about this follows in the services section later in this article.
In case the migration yields a broken state, it is always possible to boot back into the default service manager (OpenRC) by undoing this init change step. This allows safe return and a way to follow through the troubleshooting section at the end of this article to fix the problem.
The following subsections document how to switch the init in one of the boot managers or the kernel.
GRUB Legacy (0.x)
The init=/lib/systemd/systemd argument should be added to the kernel command-line. An example excerpt from grub.conf would look like so:
/boot/grub/grub.confExample GRUB config for systemdtitle=Gentoo with systemd root (hd0,0) kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/sda2 init=/lib/systemd/systemd
Should the system boot using OpenRC, try using real_init instead of init.
GRUB 2
When grub-mkconfig is used, add the init option to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX:
This is not needed when using an initramfs generated by dracut with systemd inside as the initramfs already starts systemd.
/etc/default/grubConfigure GRUB2 for systemd# Append parameters to the linux kernel command line GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="init=/lib/systemd/systemd"
When the GRUB2 configuration file is written by hand (experts only), append the init= parameter to the linux or linux16 command.
/boot/grub/grub.cfgExample GRUB2 configuration fragmentlinux /vmlinuz-3.10.9 root=UUID=508868e4-54c6-4e6b-84b0-b3b28b1656b6 init=/lib/systemd/systemd
YABOOT
Yaboot is a boot loader for PowerPC-based hardware running Linux, particularly New World ROM Macintosh systems.
The init=/lib/systemd/systemd argument should be added directly after the kernel command-line. An example from yaboot.conf:
/etc/yaboot.confExample yaboot config for systemdimage=/vmlinux append="init=/lib/systemd/systemd" label=Linux read-only initrd=/initramfs initrd-size=8192
You must run the ybin command each time you modify yaboot.conf for the changes to take effect.
In-kernel config
The init configuration can also be hard-coded in the kernel configuration. See Processor type and features -> Built-in kernel command line. Note that this technique works for both GRUB and GRUB2.
Upgrades
systemd has the ability to update in-place on a running system (no reboot necessary). After an upgrade to systemd has emerged, run the following command:
root #systemctl daemon-reexecConfiguration
systemd supports a few system configuration files to set the most basic system details.
While some system configuration parameters can be updated by modifying the appropriate configuration files, most settings are managed using utilities that require systemd to be running. In this case, it is safe to reboot the computer with systemd and use the hostnamectl, localectl, and timedatectl utilities as required.
Machine ID
Create a machine ID for journaling to work. This can be done through the following command:
root #systemd-machine-id-setupThe command
systemd-machine-id-setup also has an impact on the systemd-networkd service. If you don't run this command, strange behavior like network interfaces not coming UP or network addresses not being applied will occur.Hostname
To set the hostname, create/edit /etc/hostname and simply provide the desired hostname.
When booted using systemd, a tool called hostnamectl exists for editing /etc/hostname and /etc/machine-info. To change the hostname, run:
root #hostnamectl set-hostname <HOSTNAME>Refer to man hostnamectl for more options.
Locale
Usually, locales will be properly migrated from OpenRC when installing systemd. When required, the locale can be set in /etc/locale.conf as per the Gentoo handbook instructions:
/etc/locale.confSystem locale configurationLANG="en_US.utf8"
Once booted with systemd, the tool localectl is used to set locale and console or X11 keymaps. To change the system locale, run the following command:
root #localectl set-locale LANG=<LOCALE>To change the virtual console keymap:
root #localectl set-keymap <KEYMAP>And finally, to set the X11 layout:
root #localectl set-x11-keymap <LAYOUT>If needed the model, variant and options can be specified as well:
root #localectl set-x11-keymap <LAYOUT> <MODEL> <VARIANT> <OPTIONS>
After doing any of the above, update the environment so the changes will take effect:
root #env-update && source /etc/profileTime and date
Time, date, and timezone can be set using the timedatectl utility. That will also allow users to set up synchronization without needing to rely on net-misc/ntp or other providers than systemd's own implementation.
To learn how to use timedatectl simply run:
root #timedatectl --helpAutomatic module loading
Automatic module loading is configured in a different file, or rather directory of files. The configuration files are stored in /etc/modules-load.d. On boot every file with a list of modules will be loaded. The file format is a list of modules separated by newlines and can have any name as long as it ends with .conf. The module loading can be separated by program, service or whatever way that fits personal preference. An example virtualbox.conf is listed below:
/etc/modules-load.d/virtualbox.confExample file for the virtualbox modulesvboxdrv vboxnetflt vboxnetadp vboxpci
Network
systemd-networkd
systemd-networkd is useful for simple configuration of wired network interfaces. It is disabled by default.
To configure systemd-networkd, create a
- .network file under /etc/systemd/network. See systemd.network(5) for reference. A simple DHCP configuration is given below:
/etc/systemd/network/50-dhcp.network[Match] Name=en* [Network] DHCP=yes
root #systemctl enable systemd-networkd.service
root #systemctl start systemd-networkd.service
Note that systemd-networkd does not update resolv.conf by default. To have systemd manage the DNS settings, replace resolv.conf with a symlink and start systemd-resolved.
root #ln -snf /run/systemd/resolve/resolv.conf /etc/resolv.conf
root #systemctl enable systemd-resolved.service
root #systemctl start systemd-resolved.service
NetworkManager
Often NetworkManager is used to configure network settings. For that purpose, simply run the following command when using a graphical desktop:
root #nm-connection-editorIf that is not the case and the network needs to be configured from console, give nmcli a try, or follow a guided configuration process through nmtui:
root #nmtuinmtui is a curses frontend that will guide the user in the process while running in console mode.
Handling of log files
systemd has its own way of handling log files without needing to rely on an external log system (such as app-admin/syslog-ng or app-admin/rsyslog).
If desired, the logging service be configured to pass log messages to external logging utilities such as sysklog or syslog-ng. See man journald.conf to learn how to configure the systemd-journald service to suit situational needs.
systemd's integrated logging service writes log messages in a secure, binary format. The logs are read by using the journalctl command, which is a separate executable from the systemd-journald logging service.
When using systemd's systemd-journald.service for logging, which is typically the default for systems running systemd, standard users running the journalctl command will be unable to view system logs. To view system logs as a non-root account, users must be in one of the following three user groups in order to view system logs: systemd-journal, adm, or wheel. The simplest method to allow a standard user to view logs is to use the systemd-journal group. Add a user by running the following command where
larry is the desired username:root #gpasswd --add larry systemd-journalSystem logs can now be read by running journalctl --system as the user(s) added in the previous command.
Some common journalctl options:
| Command-line options for journalctl | Result |
|---|---|
| journalctl without options | Show all log entries, starting with earliest. |
-b, --boot |
Show all log entries from the current boot. |
-r, --reverse |
Show the newest log entries first (reverse chronological order). |
-f, --follow |
Show the last few entries and display new log entries as they're being produced. This is similar to running tail -f in text logging utilities. |
-p, --priority= |
Specify (minimum) priority to display messages, with a choice from: "emerg" (0), "alert" (1), "crit" (2), "err" (3), "warning" (4), "notice" (5), "info" (6), "debug" (7). |
--since=, --until= |
Restrict entries by time. Accepts the format "YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss" or the strings "yesterday", "today" and "tomorrow". |
-n, --lines= |
Restrict to a number of entries. |
-k, --dmesg |
Restrict to kernel messages. |
-u, --unit= |
Restrict to a certain systemd unit. |
--system |
View system service and kernel logs. By default, this is only possible as the root user. See man journalctl for how to grant standard users the ability to read the system journal. |
For more information and many more options, look at man journalctl.
/tmp is now in tmpfs
Unless some other filesystem is explicitly mounted to /tmp in /etc/fstab, systemd will mount /tmp as tmpfs. That means it will be emptied on every boot and its size will be limited to 50% of the system's RAM size. To know why this is the desired behavior and how to modify it, take a look at API File Systems.
Configure verbosity of boot process
When migrating to systemd users usually notice differences regarding verbosity of boot process:
- The kernel command-line option
quietnot only influences the kernel output, but also that of systemd itself. Then, while setting up systemd for the machine, drop the option to see any errors could arise more easily. After that, add it back to get a quiet (and faster) boot. - Even passing the
quietkernel command-line option, systemd can still be configured to show its status by also passingsystemd.show_status=1. - When not using the
quietkernel command-line option, some messages might be overwriting consoles. This could be caused by the kernel configuration (see man 5 proc and look for /proc/sys/kernel/printk). To tweak it pass theloglevel=5kernel command-line parameter (and update the value according to preference, for instance set a lower value like 1).
Services
At some point the system will need to be rebooted in order to get systemd running (in system mode). Be sure to read all of this document to ensure systemd is configured as completely as possible before rebooting. Note that journalctl works with systemd not running, but that systemctl will not do anything useful without systemd running. Complete the service configuration (enabling and starting of services) after logging in to the system running systemd.
OpenRC services
Although systemd originally intended to support running old init.d scripts, that support is not suited well for a dependency-based RC like OpenRC and thus is completely disabled on Gentoo. OpenRC provides additional measures to ensure that init.d scripts can't be run when OpenRC was not used to boot the system (otherwise the results would be unpredictable).
Listing available services
All available service units can be listed using the list-units argument of systemctl:
root #systemctl list-unitsUNIT LOAD ACTIVE SUB DESCRIPTION boot.automount loaded active waiting EFI System Partition Automount proc-sys-fs-binfmt_misc.automount loaded active waiting Arbitrary Executable File Formats File System Automount Point ...
The following file suffixes are of interest:
| Suffix | Description |
|---|---|
| .service | Plain service files (e.g. ones just running a daemon directly). |
| .socket | Socket listeners (much like inetd). |
| .path | Filesystem triggers for services (running services when files change, etc.). |
Alternatively the systemctl tool can be used to list all services (including implicit ones):
root #systemctl --all --fullAnd finally check for services that failed to start:
root #systemctl --failedEnabling, disabling, starting, and stopping services
The usual way of enabling a service is using the following command:
root #systemctl enable foo.serviceServices can be disabled likewise:
root #systemctl disable foo.serviceThese commands enable services using their default name in default target (both specified in "Install" section of the service file). However, sometimes services either don't provide that information or users prefer to have another name/target.
Note that these commands only enable or disable the service to be started on a next boot; to start the service right now, use:
root #systemctl start foo.serviceServices can be stopped likewise:
root #systemctl stop foo.serviceInstalling custom unit files
Custom unit files can be placed in /etc/systemd/system, where they will be recognized after running systemctl daemon-reload:
root #systemctl daemon-reload/lib/systemd/system is reserved for service files installed by the package manager.
Customizing unit files
When only minor changes to a unit are needed, there's no need to create a full copy of the original unit file in /etc/systemd/system. Overriding settings in a package management provided unit can be achieved by drop-in files in a
- .d directory named after the original unit (e.g. apache2.d) in /etc/systemd/system/.
/etc/systemd/system/apache2.d/mem-limit.confExample of adding/overriding settings in a service file[Service] MemoryLimit=1G
A reload of systemd is needed to inform it of the changes:
root #systemctl daemon-reloadThen the service needs to be restarted to apply the changes:
root #systemctl restart apache2Verify that the changed property was applied to the service:
root #systemctl show --property=MemoryLimit apache2MemoryLimit=1074000000
Enabling a service under a custom name
When the name provided by "Alias" in the unit's "[Install]" section does not meet the expectations and providing a permanent new value for this through a customization is not desired, a symlink can be created manually in /etc/systemd/system/*.wants/. The name of the
- .wants directory can either specify a target or another service which will depend on the new one.
For example, to install mysqld.service as db.service in the multi-user.target:
root #ln -s /lib/systemd/system/mysqld.service /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/db.serviceTo disable the service, just remove the symlink:
root #unlink /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/db.serviceNative services
Some of Gentoo packages already install systemd unit files. For these services, it is enough to enable them. A quick summary of packages installing unit files can be seen on systemd eclass users list.
The following table lists systemd services matching OpenRC ones:
| Gentoo package | OpenRC service | systemd unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| sys-apps/openrc | bootmisc | systemd-tmpfiles-setup.service | always enabled, uses tmpfiles.d |
| consolefont | systemd-vconsole-setup.service | always enabled, uses vconsole.conf | |
| devfs | |||
| dmesg | |||
| fsck | fsck*.service | pulled in implicitly by mounts | |
| functions.sh | See note | bug #373219 | |
| hostname | (builtin) | /etc/hostname | |
| hwclock | See note | always enabled as part of systemd (i.e. it is baked in and it is not a unit) | |
| keymaps | systemd-vconsole-setup.service | always enabled, uses vconsole.conf | |
| killprocs | |||
| local | |||
| localmount | local-fs.target | actual units are created implicitly from /etc/fstab | |
| modules | systemd-modules-load.service | always enabled, uses /etc/modules-load.d/*.conf | |
| mount-ro | |||
| mtab | |||
| netmount | remote-fs.target | ||
| numlock | |||
| procfs | (builtin) | ||
| root | remount-rootfs.service | ||
| savecache | n/a | OpenRC internals | |
| staticroute | |||
| swap | swap.target | actual units are created implicitly from /etc/fstab | |
| swclock | |||
| sysctl | systemd-sysctl.service | sysctl.conf and sysctl.d/ | |
| sysfs | (builtin) | ||
| termencoding | systemd-vconsole-setup.service | always enabled, uses vconsole.conf | |
| urandom | systemd-random-seed-load.service | ||
| systemd-random-seed-save.service | |||
| app-admin/rsyslog | rsyslog | rsyslog.service | |
| app-admin/syslog-ng | syslog-ng | syslog-ng.service | |
| media-sound/alsa-utils | alsasound | alsa-store.service | (enabled by default) |
| alsa-restore.socket | (enabled by default) | ||
| net-misc/dhcpcd | dhcpcd | dhcpcd.service | |
| net-misc/netifrc | net.* | net@.service | systemd wrapper for net.* scripts (comes with net-misc/netifrc) |
| netctl@.service | net-misc/netctl is originally an Arch Linux tool. | ||
| NetworkManager.service | For <networkmanager-0.9.8.4 : enable NetworkManager-dispatcher.service for dispatcher.d scripts to work. Enable NetworkManager-wait-online.service to detect that the system has a working internet connection. Disable all other managers (e.g., wicd, dhcpcd) and wpa_supplicant. | ||
| dhcpcd.service | Provided by net-misc/dhcpcd | ||
| systemd.networkd.service | Part of systemd | ||
| net-misc/openntpd | ntpd | ntpd.service | |
| net-misc/openssh | sshd | sshd.service | runs sshd as a daemon |
| sshd.socket | runs sshd on a inetd-like basis (for each incoming connection) | ||
| net-wireless/wpa_supplicant | wpa-supplicant | wpa_supplicant.service | D-Bus controlled daemon (e.g. for NetworkManager) |
| wpa_supplicant@.service | interface-specific wpa_supplicant (used like wpa_supplicant@wlan0.service) | ||
| net-print/cups | cupsd | cups.service | classic on-boot start up service |
| cups.socket | socket and path activation (cups only started on-demand) | ||
| cups.path | |||
| net-wireless/bluez | bluetooth | bluetooth.service | |
| sys-apps/dbus | dbus | dbus.service | |
| dbus.socket | |||
| sys-apps/irqbalance | irqbalance | irqbalance.service | supports daemon mode only |
| sys-apps/microcode-ctl | microcode_ctl | Configure microcode as a module to let it load the microcode itself. Go to "Processor type and features" -> "CPU microcode loading support" and remember to add the right option based on the system having an intel or amd processor. | |
| sys-fs/udev | udev | udev.service | |
| udev-mount | (builtin) | /dev is mounted as tmpfs | |
| udev-postmount | udev-trigger.service | ||
| udev-settle.service | |||
| sys-power/acpid | acpid | acpid.service | Most of its functionality is done by systemd itself, so consider disabling this |
| x11-apps/xdm | (xdm) | xdm.service | OpenRC uses common xdm init.d installed by x11-base/xorg-server. With systemd the corresponding unit file for each DM (gdm.service, kdm.service...) needs to be enabled. |
| net-firewall/iptables | iptables | iptables-store.service | |
| iptables-restore.service |
Timer services
Since version 197 systemd supports timers, making cron unnecessary on a systemd system. Since version 212 persistent services are supported, replacing even anacron. Persistent timers are run at the next opportunity if the system was powered down when the timer was scheduled.
The following is an example on how to make a simple timer that runs in the context of a user. It will even run if the user is not logged in. Every timed service needs a timer and a service file that is activated by the timer as follows:
~/.local/share/systemd/user/backup-work.timerExample of a timer running every working day[Unit] Description=daily backup work RefuseManualStart=no RefuseManualStop=no [Timer] Persistent=false OnCalendar=Mon-Fri *-*-* 11:30:00 Unit=backup-work.service [Install] WantedBy=default.target
~/.local/share/systemd/user/backup-work.serviceExample of a service triggering backup[Unit] Description=daily backup work RefuseManualStart=no RefuseManualStop=yes [Service] Type=oneshot ExecStart=/home/<user>/scripts/backup-work.sh
Firstly, tell systemd to rescan the service files:
user $systemctl --user daemon-reloadIt is possible to trigger the backup manually by running the following command:
user $systemctl --user start backup-work.serviceStart and stop the timer manually as follows:
user $systemctl --user start backup-work.timeruser $systemctl --user stop backup-work.timerFinally, to activate the timer at every system start, run:
user $systemctl --user enable backup-work.timerTo check the last results of running the service:
user $systemctl --user list-timersEmailing failures
If a timed service runs and fails an e-mail can be send out to inform the user or administrator. This is possible with the "OnFailure" stanza which specifies what should happen if a service fails. A failure is detected by a non-zero return code of the invoked script.
For that change the script as follows:
~/.local/share/systemd/user/backup-work.serviceExample of a service triggering backup[Unit] Description=daily backup work RefuseManualStart=no RefuseManualStop=yes OnFailure=failure-email@%i.service [Service] Type=oneshot ExecStart=/home/<user>/scripts/backup-work.sh
This requires to have the service failure-email@.service installed, which can be found in kylemanna's systemd-utils repository.
Replacing cron
The above timer and service files can also be added to /lib/systemd/system to make them available system-wide. The install section should then say WantedBy=multi-user.target to enable the service at system start.
However, cron also runs the scripts in /etc/cron.daily and other locations. Several packages place scripts there that they expect to be run daily. This behavior can be emulated with systemd by installing sys-process/systemd-cron. Then activate the new cron replacement with the following commands:
root #systemctl enable cron.targetroot #systemctl start cron.targetTroubleshooting
/dev/kmsg buffer overrun, some messages lost
- Problem
- When booting the system displays an infinite loop of
/dev/kmsg buffer overrun, some messages lost. The login screen to console never appears since the system never gets to that point in the boot process.
- Solution
- Most of the time this issue is caused when the CONFIG_POWER_SUPPLY_DEBUG option is enabled in the kernel. The current workaround is to disable this option in the kernel, then recompile, install, and boot the new kernel. The solution can also be found in this thread on the Gentoo forums. According to one user one the forum, this issue was also seen when using I2C EEPROM on an embedded system[1]. The solution in this case was to disable the CONFIG_I2C_DEBUG_CORE kernel option.
Graphical sessions opened in random places
By default systemd only launches a getty process when it's going to be used. This causes some display managers (like GDM) to use the remaining TTYs for opening graphical sessions on demand, which can result in having consoles and graphical sessions placed randomly depending on the order they were used.
To stick with a more "classical" behavior (i.e, consoles placed from tty1 to tty6 and graphical sessions using the remaining TTYs) force it to always launch getty on those:
root #systemctl enable getty@tty{2,3,4,5,6}.serviceLVM
When switching from OpenRC to systemd and LVM is needed to properly mount the system volumes, activate the LVM service:
root #systemctl enable lvm2-monitor.serviceWhile it might not be needed for activation of the root volume (if LVM is integrated into the initramfs) it might not work for other LVM volumes, unless the service is activated.
systemd-bootchart
Make sure that CONFIG_DEBUG_KERNEL, CONFIG_SCHED_DEBUG, and CONFIG_SCHEDSTATS are enabled.
'"`UNIQ--pre-00000022-QINU`"'
Next, enable systemd-bootchart.service:
root #systemctl enable systemd-bootchartThe result of the changes will produce a bootchart report in SVG format located in /run/log/ after each boot. It can be viewed using a modern web browser.
As an alternative to systemd-bootchart the starting of services can be visualized with:
root #systemd-analyze plot > plot.svgsyslog-ng source for systemd
There is no need to add unix-dgram('/dev/log'); to the /etc/syslog-ng/syslog-ng.conf config file. It will cause syslog-ng to fail (at least on version syslog-ng-3.7.2). Update the source src { ...; }; line mentioned in the syslog-ng article as follows:
/etc/syslog-ng/syslog-ng.conf# default config for openrc
#source src { system(); internal(); };
# systemd
source src { systemd-journal(); internal(); };
sys-fs/cryptsetup configuration
systemd does not seem to respect /etc/conf.d/dmcrypt (see bug #429966) so it needs to be configured through the /etc/crypttab file:
/etc/crypttabConfiguration file for encrypted block devicescrypt-home UUID=c25dd0f3-ecdd-420e-99a8-0ff2eaf3f391 -
Make sure to enable the cryptsetup USE flag for sys-apps/systemd. It will install /lib/systemd/system-generators/systemd-cryptsetup-generator that will automatically create a service (cryptsetup@crypt-home.service for above example) for each entry on boot.
Check for units that failed to start
Check for units that failed to start with:
root #systemctl --failedEnable debug mode
To get more informations set the following in /etc/systemd/system.conf:
/etc/systemd/system.confLogLevel=debug
Or enable the debug-shell, that opens a terminal at tty9. This helps to debug services during the boot process.
root #systemctl enable debug-shell.servicee4rat usage
Please remember to edit /etc/e4rat.conf setting 'init' to /lib/systemd/systemd, otherwise it will keep booting OpenRC.
GRSecurity hardening
With grsecurity enabled, systemd-networkd might log the following error:
could not find udev device: Permission denied
The error raises due to systemd-networkd working under a non-root user with grsecurity refusing access to the complete /sys structure for such users. To disable this option, disable the CONFIG_GRKERNSEC_SYSFS_RESTRICT kernel option.
logind may also have subtle permission issues with CONFIG_GRKERNSEC_PROC active, see bug #472098.
shutdown -rF does not force fsck
The systemd-fsck service is responsible of running fsck when needed. It doesn't honor shutdown's -rF option, but instead honors the following kernel boot parameters.
| Boot parameter | Supported options | Description |
|---|---|---|
fsck.mode
|
autoforceskip
|
Controls the mode of operation. The default is auto, and ensures that file system checks are done when the file system checker deems them necessary. force unconditionally results in full file system checks. skip skips any file system checks.
|
fsck.repair
|
preenyesno
|
Controls the mode of operation. The default is preen, and will automatically repair problems that can be safely fixed. yes will answer yes to all questions by fsck and no will answer no to all questions.
|
See also
- Comparison of init systems — compares and contrasts init systems.
- Sakaki's EFI Install Guide - Particularly look at the chapter entitled Configuring systemd and installing necessary tools
- Packages that hard depend on systemd
- OpenRC to systemd Cheatsheet — list of commands commonly used in OpenRC and its equivalent systemd command.
External resources
References
- ↑ https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-977530-postdays-0-postorder-asc-start-25.html Retrieved on March 12th, 2016