Svcs Command - Solaris Service Management
The svcs command is a powerful utility in Solaris for managing and querying the status of system services. It provides a comprehensive overview of running, stopped, and disabled services, along with their dependencies and states.
Understanding Solaris Services
Solaris uses SMF (Service Management Facility) to manage services. The svcs command is the primary interface for interacting with SMF. Understanding service states is crucial for system administration and troubleshooting.
Listing Service Information
Here are common ways to use the svcs command to get information about services:
# svcs
# List all running services:
svcs
# List services that are not running (including disabled and maintenance states):
svcs -vx
# List information about a specific service (e.g., apache):
svcs apache
Troubleshooting Service Logs
When a service encounters issues, its logs are the first place to look for clues. The svcs command can help you locate and view these logs.
# Show location of service log file:
svcs -L apache
# Display end of a service log file (assuming 'apache' is the service name):
tail $(svcs -L apache)
Key Service States
- online: The service is running and available.
- offline: The service is not running but can be started.
- maintenance: The service is in a maintenance state, often due to a configuration error or failure to start.
- disabled: The service is configured not to start automatically.