4    Customizing the System Environment

This chapter describes how you can customize your system environment in the following areas:

4.1    Identifying and Modifying System Initialization Files

To define and customize the system environment, you modify certain initialization files that specify and control processes and run levels. Tru64 UNIX provides you with default files that define the available run levels and the processes associated with each run level. You can easily change or customize the system environment by using these files as templates. In addition, if you support internationalization standards, you must be familiar with the structure and requirements of the corresponding files on your system.

This section describes the Tru64 UNIX software and provides instructions for identifying, using, and modifying the files that initialize and control the system environment. To understand and utilize available functionality, you should familiarize yourself with the init program and the specific files and commands associated with the program. Refer to the init(8) reference page for a description of the program and its behavior.

Before you make any changes to the system initialization files, you should examine the default setup, evaluate the needs of your system, and make a copy of the entire set of default files. Taking precautions is wise when making changes to system files or to files that alter the working environment. If you discover that your modifications do not create the environment that you intended, you can reinstate the default files while you fix the problems in your customized environment.

The following system files and directories influence system startup and operation:

/etc/inittab

One of the key initialization files whose entries define run levels and associated processes and administer terminals. Section 4.1.1 describes this file.

/etc/securettys

A text file that marks whether a given tty line allows root logins. Section 4.1.1.7 describes this file.

/sbin/bcheckrc

A system initialization run command script associated with checking and mounting file systems at startup time. Section 4.1.1.2 describes this file.

/sbin/init.d

The initialization directory that contains executable files associated with system startup and the available run levels. Section 4.1.2.1 describes the directory structure and contents.

/sbin/rcn .d

A set of individual directories that correspond to the various run levels. Each directory contains linked files that the system acts on when starting or changing a particular run level. There are three /sbin/rcn .d directories available: /sbin/rc0.d, /sbin/rc2.d, and /sbin/rc3.d. Section 4.1.2.2, Section 4.1.2.3, and Section 4.1.2.4 describe the rc directory structure and contents.

/sbin/rcn

The run command script that corresponds to a particular run level. There are three /sbin/rcn scripts available: /sbin/rc0, /sbin/rc2, and /sbin/rc3. Section 4.1.2.2, Section 4.1.2.3, and Section 4.1.2.4 describe the contents and use of these scripts.

/etc/rc.config

A file that contains run-time configuration variables. Scripts in the /sbin/init.d directory use these variables to configure various subsystems (for example, NFS or NTP). You (or a program) can use the rcmgr command to define or access variables in the /etc/rc.config file. Refer to the rcmgr(8) reference page and the Network Administration manual for more information.

/etc/sysconfigtab

The database file that contains information about the subsystems that can be dynamically configured. Chapter 5 describes this file.

/usr/sbin/getty

The executable file that sets and manages terminal lines. Section 4.1.1.4 and Section 4.1.1.5 describe this program. Refer to the getty(8) reference page for more information.

/etc/gettydefs

The file used by getty that contains entries to identify and define terminal line attributes. Refer to the gettydefs(4) reference page for more information.

/var/spool/cron/crontabs/*

The files that contain entries to identify and define the regular or periodic activation of specific processes. Refer to Section 4.1.3 for more information about these files.

/var/spool/cron/atjobs/*

The file that contains entries to identify and define the once-only activation of specific processes. See the at(1) reference page for more information.

The following files contain information on kernel configuration:

/usr/sys/conf/NAME

The text file that defines the components that the system builds into your configuration. The NAME variable usually specifies the system name. Chapter 5 describes this file.

/usr/sys/conf/NAME .list

The optional configuration file that stores information about the layered product subsystems and is used to automatically configure static subsystems. The NAME variable usually specifies the system name. Chapter 5 describes this file.

/usr/sys/conf/param.c

The text file that contains default values for some tunable system parameters used in building the system's kernel. Chapter 5 describes this file.

4.1.1    Using the /etc/inittab File

One of the first actions taken by the init program is to read the /etc/inittab file. The inittab file supplies the init program with instructions for creating and running initialization processes. The init program reads the inittab file each time init is invoked. The file typically contains instructions for the default initialization, the creation and control of processes at each run level, and the getty line process that controls the activation of terminal lines.

The Tru64 UNIX software provides you with a basic /etc/inittab file that contains line entries for the most common and necessary initialization processes. For example, the /etc/inittab file available with the distribution software would look similar to the following:

is:3:initdefault:
ss:Ss:wait:/sbin/rc0 shutdown < /dev/console > /dev/console 2>&1
s0:0:wait:/sbin/rc0 off < /dev/console > /dev/console 2>&1
fs:23:wait:/sbin/bcheckrc < /dev/console > /dev/console 2>&1
# Dynamic loading not supported in this release.
#kls:23:bootwait:/sbin/kloadsrv < /dev/console > /dev/console 2>&1
#cfg:23:wait:/sbin/cfgmgr -l < /dev/console > /dev/console 2>&1
update:23:wait:/sbin/update > /dev/console 2>&1
it:23:wait:/sbin/it < /dev/console > /dev/console 2>&1
kmk:3:bootwait:/sbin/kmknod > /dev/console 2>&1
s2:23:wait:/sbin/rc2 < /dev/console > /dev/console 2>&1
s3:3:wait:/sbin/rc3 < /dev/console > /dev/console 2>&1
cons:1234:respawn:/usr/sbin/getty console console vt100
lat02:3:respawn:/usr/sbin/getty         /dev/tty02
lat03:3:respawn:/usr/sbin/getty         /dev/tty03

The inittab file is composed of an unlimited number of lines, each with four fields; each field is separated by a colon. The fields and syntax for entries in the inittab file are as follows:

Identifier: Runlevel: Action: Command

Identifier

This 14-character field uniquely identifies an object entry.

Runlevel

This 20-character field defines the run levels in which the object entry is to be processed. The Runlevel variable corresponds to a configuration of processes in a system. Each process spawned by the init command is assigned one or more run levels in which it is allowed to exist. The run levels are as follows:

0 Specifies the halt state
s or S Specifies single-user mode
2 Specifies multiuser mode without network services
3 Specifies multiuser mode with network services

The Runlevel field can define multiple run levels for a process by specifying more than one run level character in any combination.

Action

This 20-character field tells init how to treat the specified process. The most common actions that init recognizes are as follows:

respawn If the process does not exist or dies, init starts it. If the process currently exists, init does nothing and continues scanning the inittab file.
wait When init enters a run level that matches the run level of the entry, it starts the process and waits for its termination. As long as init continues in this run level, it does not act on subsequent reads of the entry in the inittab file.
bootwait When init first executes and reads the inittab file, it processes this line entry. The init program starts the process, waits for its termination and, when it dies, does not restart the process.
initdefault A line with this action is processed when init is first invoked. The init program uses this line to determine which run level to enter. To do this, it takes the highest run level specified in the run-level field and uses that as its initial state. If the run-level field is empty, this is interpreted as 0s23, so init enters run level 3. If init does not find an initdefault line in the inittab file, it requests an initial run level from the operator.

Other action keywords are available and recognized by the init program. See the inittab(4) reference page for more information.

Command

This 1024-character field holds the sh command to be executed. The entry in the command field is prefixed with exec. Any legal sh syntax can appear in the command field.

You can insert comments in the inittab file by specifying a # (number sign) at the beginning of a line. You can also place a \ (line continuation character) at the end of a line.

If you intend to change or add entries to the /etc/inittab file, make certain that you are familiar with the function and contents of the associated files and run command scripts.

The following sections provide information that will help you to use the /etc/inittab file.

4.1.1.1    Specifying the Initialization Default Run Level

At boot time, the init program looks in the inittab file for the initdefault keyword to find the definition of the run level to enter. If there is no entry for initdefault, the system prompts you for a run level. In the previous inittab file example, the following line indicates that the run level for initdefault is set to 3, which is the multiuser with network services mode:

is:3:initdefault:

4.1.1.2    Specifying wait Run Levels

The init program looks in the inittab file for the wait entries. In the previous inittab file example, the following line contains a wait entry:

fs:23:wait:/sbin/bcheckrc < /dev/console > /dev/console 2>&1

In this case, the init program invokes the /sbin/bcheckrc script for the fs entry. Processes associated with this entry execute at run levels 2 and 3. Input comes from the system console (/dev/console). System and process error messages are sent to the console (> /dev/console 2>&1).

The bcheckrc run command script contains procedures associated with file system checking and mounting. See the /sbin/bcheckrc file for details.

4.1.1.3    Specifying bootwait Run Levels

The init program looks in the inittab file for the bootwait entry. In the previous inittab file example, the following line contains a bootwait entry:

kmk:3:bootwait:/sbin/kmknod > /dev/console 2>&1

In this case, the init program invokes the /sbin/kmknod script for the kmk entry.

4.1.1.4    Specifying Console Run Levels

Before you or anyone else can log in to your system, the getty program for nonworksystems and the xdm program for worksystems must set up the process that runs the login and shell programs for each terminal and workstation, respectively. Because a large portion of your initial work is done at the system console, the /etc/inittab file contains an entry for setting up a getty process for the console. The xdm process is started with a run-level script in the /sbin/rc3.d directory.

In the previous example of the inittab file, the following line contains the entry for the system console:

cons:1234:respawn:/usr/sbin/getty console console vt100

The init program is instructed to invoke the getty program, which sets the terminal line attributes for the system console ( /dev/console ). The run-level field specifies that the getty process executes at run levels 1, 2, 3, and 4. The respawn keyword tells init to re-create the getty process if the active process terminates. If the process is active, init does not respawn the process; if it terminates, the process is re-created.

Note

In general, you should not modify the system console entry in the inittab file unless you want to limit the system console's access to different run levels. By placing limitations on the range of run levels for this terminal line, you risk disabling the system console if the system enters a run level that prohibits execution of the console's getty process.

4.1.1.5    Specifying Terminals and Terminal Run Levels

To enable user logins at each terminal supported by your system, you must maintain support for the terminal types available at your site and define the run level and getty process for each supported terminal type. Use the following database and file:

The Tru64 UNIX system supports a wide variety of terminal types. The terminfo database contains entries that describe each terminal type and its capabilities. The database is created by the tic program, which compiles the source files into data files. The terminfo source files typically consist of at least one device description that conforms to a particular format. See the terminfo(4) reference page for specific details on creating and compiling source files.

The /usr/lib/terminfo directory contains the source files, each of which has a .ti suffix, for example name.ti. After you compile the source files with the tic command, it places the output in a directory subordinate to /usr/lib/terminfo.

Various commands and programs rely on the files in these directories. Set your TERMINFO environment variable to the /usr/lib/terminfo directory to instruct programs that rely on the database for information to look there for relevant terminal information.

See the getty(8), gettydefs(4), and inittab(4) reference pages for information about defining terminal lines and managing terminal access.

4.1.1.6    Specifying Process Run Levels

Specific entries in the inittab file define the run command scripts that are to be executed when the system enters or changes to a particular run level. For example, the following inittab file entries specify the action to be taken by the init program at each of the available run levels:

ss:Ss:wait:/sbin/rc0 shutdown < /dev/console > /dev/console 2>&1
s0:0:wait:/sbin/rc0 off < /dev/console > /dev/console 2>&1
s2:23:wait:/sbin/rc2 < /dev/console > /dev/console 2>&1
s3:3:wait:/sbin/rc3 < /dev/console > /dev/console 2>&1

These entries are associated with the rc directory structure and are discussed in detail in Section 4.1.2.

4.1.1.7    Securing a Terminal Line

The /etc/securettys file indicates to the system whether terminals or pseudoterminals can be used for root logins. To enable root logins on a terminal line, include the pathname in the /etc/securettys file. To enable root login on pseudoterminals, include the ptys keyword. You enable X displays for root login by including their display name, for example :0. By default, only the console and the X server line are set secure.

The following example of an /etc/securettys file shows root logins enabled on the console, on the X display, on two hard-wired or LAT lines, and on all pseudoterminals:

/dev/console
:0
/dev/tty00
/dev/tty01
ptys

4.1.2    Using the init and rc Directory Structure

The Tru64 UNIX system provides you with an initialization and run command directory structure. The structure has four main components: the init.d, rc0.d, rc2.d, and rc3.d directories. In addition, each of the rcn .d directories has a corresponding rcn run command script.

4.1.2.1    The init.d Directory

The /sbin/init.d directory contains the executable files associated with system initialization. For example, a listing of the directory contents would look similar to the following:

acct       inetd      motd       preserve    savecore   syslog
crashdc    kloadsrv   named      quota       sendmail   uucp
cron       kmod       nfs        recpasswd   settime    xdm
enlogin    lat        nfsmount   rmtmpfiles  sia        xntpd
gateway    loader     nis        route       snmpd
inet       lpd        paging     rwho        startlmf

4.1.2.2    The rc0.d Directory and rc0 Run Command Script

The /sbin/rc0 script contains run commands that enable a smooth shutdown and bring the system to either a halt state or single-user mode. As described previously, the inittab file contains entries that the init program reads and acts on when the system is shutting down to single-user mode (level s) or halting (level 0). For example:

ss:Ss:wait:/sbin/rc0 shutdown < /dev/console > /dev/console 2>&1
s0:0:wait:/sbin/rc0 off < /dev/console > /dev/console 2>&1

Notice that in both cases, the rc0 script is the specified command. In addition to commands listed in the script itself, rc0 contains instructions to run commands found in the /sbin/rc0.d directory. These commands are linked to files in the init.d directory. The script defines the conditions under which the commands execute; some commands run if the system is being halted while others run if the system is being shut down and rebooted to single-user mode.

By convention, files in the /sbin/rc0.d directory begin with either the letter "K" or the letter "S" and are followed by a 2-digit number and a file name. For example, a long listing of the rc0.d directory contents would look similar to the following:

lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 17 Jan 04 10:31 K00enlogin -> ../init.d/enlogin
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 13 Jan 04 10:44 K05lpd -> ../init.d/lpd
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 13 Jan 04 10:51 K07lat -> ../init.d/lat
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 15 Jan 04 10:37 K10inetd -> ../init.d/inetd
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 15 Jan 04 10:37 K15snmpd -> ../init.d/snmpd
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 13 Jan 04 10:31 K19xdm -> ../init.d/xdm
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 15 Jan 04 10:37 K20xntpd -> ../init.d/xntpd
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 14 Jan 04 10:31 K22cron -> ../init.d/cron
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 18 Jan 04 10:31 K25sendmail -> ../init.d/sendmail
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 13 Jan 04 10:41 K30nfs -> ../init.d/nfs
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 18 Jan 04 10:41 K35nfsmount -> ../init.d/nfsmount
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 13 Jan 04 10:37 K38nis -> ../init.d/nis
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 15 Jan 04 10:41 K40named -> ../init.d/named
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 14 Jan 04 10:37 K42rwho -> ../init.d/rwho
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 15 Jan 04 10:37 K43route -> ../init.d/route
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 17 Jan 04 10:37 K44gateway -> ../init.d/gateway
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 16 Jan 04 10:31 K45syslog -> ../init.d/syslog
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 14 Jan 04 10:52 K46uucp -> ../init.d/uucp
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 14 Jan 04 10:37 K50inet -> ../init.d/inet
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 15 Jan 04 10:31 K52quota -> ../init.d/quota

In general, the system starts commands that begin with the letter "S" and stops commands that begin with the letter "K." The numbering of commands in the /sbin/rc0.d directory is important since the numbers are sorted and the commands are run in ascending order.

See the rc0(8) reference page for additional information.

4.1.2.3    The rc2.d Directory and rc2 Run Command Script

The /sbin/rc2 script contains run commands that enable initialization of the system to a nonnetworked multiuser state, run level 2. As described previously, the inittab file contains entries that the init program reads and acts on when the system is booting or changing its state to run level 2. For example:

s2:23:wait:/sbin/rc2 < /dev/console > /dev/console 2>&1

Notice that the rc2 script is the specified command. In addition to commands listed in the script itself, rc2 contains instructions to run commands found in the /sbin/rc2.d directory. These commands are linked to files in the init.d directory. The script defines the conditions under which the commands execute; some commands run if the system is booting, other commands run if the system is changing run levels.

By convention, files in the /sbin/rc2.d directory begin with either the letter "K" or the letter "S" and are followed by a 2-digit number and a file name. For example, a listing of the /sbin/rc2.d directory contents would look similar to the following:

lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 13 Jan 04 10:44 K00lpd -> ../init.d/lpd
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 13 Jan 04 10:51 K03lat -> ../init.d/lat
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 15 Jan 04 10:37 K05inetd -> ../init.d/inetd
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 15 Jan 04 10:37 K10snmpd -> ../init.d/snmpd
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 15 Jan 04 10:37 K15xntpd -> ../init.d/xntpd
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 14 Jan 04 10:31 K20cron -> ../init.d/cron
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 18 Jan 04 10:31 K30sendmail -> ../init.d/sendmail
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 13 Jan 04 10:41 K35nfs -> ../init.d/nfs
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 18 Jan 04 10:41 K40nfsmount -> ../init.d/nfsmount
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 13 Jan 04 10:37 K43nis -> ../init.d/nis
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 15 Jan 04 10:41 K45named -> ../init.d/named
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 14 Jan 04 10:37 K47rwho -> ../init.d/rwho
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 15 Jan 04 10:37 K48route -> ../init.d/route
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 17 Jan 04 10:37 K49gateway -> ../init.d/gateway
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 16 Jan 04 10:31 K50syslog -> ../init.d/syslog
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 14 Jan 04 10:52 K51uucp -> ../init.d/uucp
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 14 Jan 04 10:37 K55inet -> ../init.d/inet
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 15 Jan 04 10:31 K57quota -> ../init.d/quota
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 18 Jan 04 10:31 S00savecore -> ../init.d/savecore
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 16 Jan 04 10:31 S05paging -> ../init.d/paging
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 19 Jan 04 10:31 S10recpasswd -> ../init.d/recpasswd
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 14 Jan 04 10:52 S15uucp -> ../init.d/uucp
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 17 Jan 04 10:31 S25enlogin -> ../init.d/enlogin

In general, the system starts commands that begin with the letter "S" and stops commands that begin with the letter "K." Commands that begin with the letter "K" run only when the system is changing run levels from a higher to a lower level. Commands that begin with the letter "S" run in all cases. The numbering of commands in the /sbin/rc2.d directory is important since the numbers are sorted and the commands are run in ascending order.

Refer to the rc2(8) reference page for more information.

4.1.2.4    The rc3.d Directory and rc3 Run Command Script

The /sbin/rc3 script contains run commands that enable initialization of the system to a networked multiuser state, run level 3. As described previously, the inittab file contains entries that the init program reads and acts on when the system is booting or changing its state to run level 3. For example:

s3:3:wait:/sbin/rc3 < /dev/console > /dev/console 2>&1

Notice that the rc3 script is the specified command. In addition to commands listed in the script itself, rc3 contains instructions to run commands found in the /sbin/rc3.d directory. These commands are linked to files in the init.d directory. The script defines the conditions under which the commands execute; some commands run if the system is booting, other commands run if the system is changing run levels.

By convention, files in the /sbin/rc3.d directory begin with the letter "S" and are followed by a 2-digit number and a file name. For example, a long listing of the rc3.d directory contents would look similar to the following:

lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 14 Jan 04 10:37 S00inet -> ../init.d/inet
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 15 Jan 04 10:31 S01quota -> ../init.d/quota
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 14 Jan 04 10:52 S04uucp -> ../init.d/uucp
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 17 Jan 04 10:31 S05settime -> ../init.d/settime
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 18 Jan 04 10:31 S08startlmf -> ../init.d/startlmf
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 16 Jan 04 10:31 S10syslog -> ../init.d/syslog
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 17 Jan 04 10:37 S11gateway -> ../init.d/gateway
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 15 Jan 04 10:37 S12route -> ../init.d/route
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 14 Jan 04 10:37 S13rwho -> ../init.d/rwho
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 15 Jan 04 10:41 S15named -> ../init.d/named
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 13 Jan 04 10:37 S18nis -> ../init.d/nis
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 18 Jan 04 10:41 S20nfsmount -> ../init.d/nfsmount
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 16 Jan 04 10:31 S22loader -> ../init.d/loader
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 18 Jan 04 10:31 S23kloadsrv -> ../init.d/kloadsrv
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 14 Jan 04 10:31 S24kmod -> ../init.d/kmod
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 18 Jan 04 10:31 S25preserve -> ../init.d/preserve
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 13 Jan 04 10:31 S26sia -> ../init.d/sia
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 20 Jan 04 10:31 S30rmtmpfiles -> ../init.d/rmtmpfiles
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 13 Jan 04 10:41 S35nfs -> ../init.d/nfs
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 18 Jan 04 10:31 S40sendmail -> ../init.d/sendmail
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 15 Jan 04 10:37 S45xntpd -> ../init.d/xntpd
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 15 Jan 04 10:37 S50snmpd -> ../init.d/snmpd
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 15 Jan 04 10:37 S55inetd -> ../init.d/inetd
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 14 Jan 04 10:31 S57cron -> ../init.d/cron
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 13 Jan 04 10:30 S58lat -> ../init.d/lat
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 14 Jan 04 10:30 S60motd -> ../init.d/motd
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 13 Jan 04 10:44 S65lpd -> ../init.d/lpd
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 14 Jan 04 10:42 S75acct -> ../init.d/acct
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 17 Jan 04 10:30 S80crashdc -> ../init.d/crashdc
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root staff 13 Jan 04 10:30 S95xdm -> ../init.d/xdm

In general, the system starts commands that begin with the letter "S" and stops commands that begin with the letter "K." Commands that begin with the letter "K" run only when the system is changing run levels from a higher to a lower level. Commands that begin with the letter "S" run in all cases.

Usually, only commands that begin with the letter "S" are placed in the rc3.d directory. By default, run level 3 is the highest run level. The numbering of commands in the /sbin/rc3.d directory is important since the numbers are sorted and the commands are run in ascending order.

Refer to the rc3(8) reference page for more information.

4.1.3    Using the crontabs Directory

The crontab command submits a schedule of commands to the cron system clock daemon. The cron daemon runs shell commands according to the dates and times specified in the files in the /var/spool/cron/crontabs directory. Commands that you want to run on a regular schedule are in these files. Commands that you want to run only once are in the /var/spool/cron/atjobs/* files and are submitted with the at command.

The following example of an entry from a file in the /var/spool/cron/crontabs directory specifies that the runacct command runs at 2:00 a.m., Monday through Saturday, and output is sent to the /var/adm/acct/nite/fd2log file:

   [1]                    [2]                      [3]
0 2 * * 1-6 /usr/sbin/acct/runacct > /var/adm/acct/nite/fd2log&

Each entry has the following syntax:

  1. Specifies the minutes past the hour, the hour, day of month, month, and day of week. Note that for the day of week, the value 0 (zero) indicates Sunday, the value 1 indicates Monday, and so on. You can specify a single value, more than one value separated by commas, or two values separated by a dash (-) to indicate a range of values. You can also specify an asterisk (*) to indicate no specific value. For example, if an asterisk (*) is specified for the hour, the command is run every hour. [Return to example]

  2. Specifies the command to be executed at the specified time. [Return to example]

  3. Specifies, optionally, arguments to the command. [Return to example]

To add a comment to a file, specify a # (number sign) at the beginning of the line.

The files in the /var/spool/cron/crontabs directory are named for system users, and the commands in the files are run under the authority of the user. For example, the commands in the adm file are run under adm authority.

To use the crontab command, you must be the user that matches the file name you want to act upon. For example, if you are user adm and you run the crontab command, the action is performed on the /var/spool/cron/crontabs/adm file.

To submit commands to the cron daemon to be run under adm authority:

  1. Become user adm.

  2. Enter the crontab command with the -l option to copy the /usr/spool/cron/crontabs/adm file to a temporary file in your home directory.

    
    % crontab -l > temp_adm
    

  3. Edit the temporary file and add the commands you want to run at a specified time.

  4. Enter the crontab command and specify the temporary file to submit the commands to the cron daemon.

    % crontab temp_adm
    

The /var/adm/cron/log file contains a history of the commands executed by the cron daemon. This file should be monitored to prevent it from becoming excessively large.

Refer to the crontab(1) reference page for more information.

4.2    Identifying and Managing National Language Support Directories and Files

Tru64 UNIX provides language-specific and country-specific information or support for programs.

The support components that concern you most directly as system administrator are the directories and files that reside at /usr/lib/nls.

An internationalized system presents information in a variety of ways. The word "locale" refers to the language, territory, and code set requirements that correspond to a particular part of the world. The system stores locale-specific data in two kinds of files:

Table 4-1 lists the locales moved to the /usr/lib/nls/loc directory when you install the optional Single-Byte European Locales subset. Additional locales are installed by language variant subsets with special licensing requirements.

Table 4-1:  Locale Support Files

Language/Territory Locale Filename
Danish-Denmark da_DK.ISO8859-1
Dutch-Netherlands nl_NL.ISO8859-1
Dutch_Belgium nl_BE.ISO8859-1
English_U.K en_GB.ISO8859-1
English_U.S.A. en_US.ISO8859-1
Finnish-Finland fi_FI.ISO8859-1
French_Belgium fr_BE.ISO8859-1
French_Canada fr_CA.ISO8859-1
French_France fr_FR.ISO8859-1
French_Switzerland fr_CH.ISO8859-1
German_Belgium de_BE.ISO8859-1
German_Germany de_DE.ISO8859-1
German_Switzerland de_CH.ISO8859-1
Greek-Greece el_GR.ISO8859-7
Italian-Italy it_IT.ISO8859-1
Norwegian-Norway no_NO.ISO8859-1
Portuguese-Portugal pt_PT.ISO8859-1
Spanish-Spain es_ES.ISO8859-1
Swedish-Sweden sv_SV.ISO8859-1
Turkish-Turkey tr_TR.ISO8859-1

Note

The /usr/lib/nls/loc directory also contains environment tables (.en files), character tables (.8859* files), and DEC variants (@DEC files) that correspond to some of the files listed in Table 4-1. These tables and variants are provided only to ensure system compatibility for old programs and should not be used by new applications.

4.2.1    Setting a Locale

The default system-wide locale for internationalization is the C locale. The default system-wide locale is the one that the setlocale function uses when a user does not set the internationalization environment variables, such as LANG, LC_COLLATE, and so on.

To change the system-wide default locale for Bourne and Korn shell users, edit the /etc/profile file and include the name of the locale you want to be the system-wide default. The setlocale function will then use the locale specified in this file. Those using the C shell can set a system-wide locale by editing the /etc/csh.login file and including the name of the locale you want to be the default system-wide locale.

You can set the native locale to any of the locales in the /usr/lib/nls/loc directory.

To set a locale, assign a locale name to one or more environment variables in the appropriate shell startup file. The simplest way is to assign a value to the LANG environment variable because it covers all components of a locale.

Note

The C locale mentioned in Table 4-1 is the system default. The C locale specifies U.S. English and uses the 7-bit ASCII codeset. The main difference between the C locale and the U.S. English locale (en_US.ISO8859-1) is that the latter has enhanced error messages.

The following example sets the locale to French for the C shell in which it is invoked and for all child processes of that shell:


% setenv LANG fr_FR.ISO8859-1

If you want another shell to have a different locale, you can reset the LANG environment variable in that particular shell. The following example sets the locale to French for the Korn and Bourne shells:


$ LANG=fr_FR.ISO8859-1
$ export LANG

Note that setting the LANG environment variable on the command line sets the locale for the current process only.

In most cases, assigning a value to the LANG environment variable is the only thing you need to do to set the locale. This is because when you set the locale with the LANG environment variable, the appropriate defaults are automatically set for the following functions:

In the unlikely event that you need to change the default behavior of any of the previous categories within a locale, you can set the variable that is associated with that category. See the following section for more information.

4.2.2    Modifying Locale Categories

When you set the locale with the LANG environment variable, defaults are automatically set for the collation sequence, character classification functions, date and time conventions, numeric and monetary formats, program messages, and the yes/no prompts appropriate for that locale. However, should you need to change any of the default categories, you can set the environment variables that are associated with one or more categories.

Table 4-2 describes the environment variables that influence locale categories.

Table 4-2:  Locale Environment Variables

Environment Variable Description
LC_ALL Overrides the setting of all other internationalization environment variables, including LANG.
LC_COLLATE Specifies the collating sequence to use when sorting names and when character ranges occur in patterns.
LC_CTYPE Specifies the character classification information to use.
LC_NUMERIC Specifies the numeric format.
LC_MONETARY Specifies the monetary format.
LC_TIME Specifies the date and time format.
LC_MESSAGES Specifies the language in which system messages will appear. In addition, specifies the strings that indicate ``yes'' and ``no'' in yes/no prompts.

As with the LANG environment variable, you can assign all of the category variables locale names. For example, suppose that your company's main language is Spanish. You can set the locale with the LANG environment variable for Spanish, but set the numeric and monetary format for U.S. English. To do this for the C shell, you would make the following variable assignments:

% setenv LANG es_ES.ISO8859-1
% setenv LC_NUMERIC en_US.ISO8859-1
% setenv LC_MONETARY en_US.ISO8859-1

Locale names may include @modifiers to indicate versions of the locales that meet special requirements for different categories.

For example, a locale might exist in two versions to sort data two ways: in dictionary order and in telephone-book order. Suppose your site is in France, uses the default French locale, and the standard setup for this locale uses dictionary order. However, your site also needs to use a site-defined locale that collates data in telephone-book order. You might set your environment variables for the C shell as follows:


% setenv LANG fr_FR.ISO8859-1
% setenv LC_COLLATE fr_FR.ISO8859-1@phone

The explicit setting of LC_COLLATE overrides LANG's implicit setting of that portion of the locale.

4.2.3    Limitations of Locale Variables

The LANG and LC_* environment variables allow you to set the locale the way you want it, but they do not protect you from mistakes. There is nothing to protect you from setting LANG to a Swedish locale and LC_CTYPE to a Portuguese locale.

Also, there is no way to tie locale information to data. This means that the system has no way of knowing what locale you set when you created a file, and it does not prevent you from processing that data in inappropriate ways later. For example, suppose LANG was set to a German locale when you created file foo. Now suppose you reset LANG to a Spanish locale and then use the grep command for something in foo. The grep command will use Spanish rules on the German data in the file.

4.2.4    Setting Environment Variables for Message Catalogs and Locales

To define the location of message catalogs, set the NLSPATH environment variable. The default path is as follows:

NLSPATH=/usr/lib/nls/msg/%L/%N:

In this example, %L specifies the current locale name, and %N specifies the value of name of the message catalog.

There is also a LOCPATH environment variable that defines the search path for locales. The default path is as follows:

LOCPATH=/usr/lib/nls/loc:

4.3    Customizing Internationalization Features

Tru64 UNIX is an internationalized operating system. Your site's planners determine which elements of the operating system's internationalization features, commonly called worldwide support features, are required. The worldwide support features are optional subsets that you can select during installation. Your job as an administrator is to set up and maintain these features for:

The Tru64 UNIX product provides three sources of information about worldwide support:

4.4    Customizing Your Time Zone

Information about configuring your system's time zone is in Chapter 5. This section describes how to administer local and worldwide time zone information on your system.

Time zone information is stored in files in the /etc/zoneinfo directory. The /etc/zoneinfo/localtime file is linked to a file in the /etc/zoneinfo directory and specifies the local time zone. These files are linked during system installation, but, as superuser, you can change your local time zone by relinking the /etc/zoneinfo/localtime file. For example, the following command changes the local time zone to Canada's Atlantic time zone:


# ln -sf /etc/zoneinfo/Canada/Atlantic /etc/zoneinfo/localtime

The /etc/zoneinfo/sources directory contains source files that specify the worldwide time zone and daylight savings time information that is used to generate the files in the /etc/zoneinfo directory. You can change the information in the source files and then use the zic command to generate a new file in the /etc/zoneinfo directory. Refer to the zic(8) reference page for more information.

You can also change the default time zone information by setting the TZ environment variable in your .login file or shell environment file. If you define the TZ environment variable, its value overrides the default time zone information specified by /etc/zoneinfo/localtime. By default, the TZ variable is not defined.

The TZ environment variable has the following syntax:

stdoffset [dst[offset] [,start[/time], end[/time]]]

You can also specify the following syntax:

stdoffset [ dst [ offset ] ]

The TZ environment variable syntaxes have the following parameters:

std and dst

Specifies the three or more characters that designate the standard (std) or daylight savings time (dst) zone.

Note

Daylight savings time is called daylight summer time in some locales.

The dst variable is not specified, daylight savings time time does not apply. You can specify any uppercase and lowercase letters. A leading colon (:), comma (,), hyphen (-), plus sign(+), and ASCII NUL are not allowed.

offset

Specifies the value to be added to the local time to arrive at GMT. The offset variable uses 24-hour time and has the following syntax:

hh [ :mm [ :ss ]]

If you do not specify the offset variable after the dst variable, daylight savings time is assumed to be 1 hour ahead of standard time. You can specify a minus sign (-) before the offset variable to indicate that the time zone is east of the prime meridian; west is the default, which you can specify with a plus sign (+).

start and end

Specifies when daylight savings time starts and ends. The start and end variable has the following syntaxes:

Jj n   Mm.w.d

In the first syntax, the j variable specifies the Julian day, which is between 1 and 365. The extra day in a leap year (February 29) is not counted.

In the second syntax, the n variable specifies the zero-based Julian day, which is between zero (0) and 365. The extra day in a leap year is counted.

In the third syntax, the m variable specifies the month number (from 1 to 12), the w variable specifies the week number (from 1 to 5), and the d variable specifies the day of the week (from 0 to 6), where zero (0) specifies Sunday and six (6) specifies Saturday.

time

Specifies the time, in local time, when the change occurs to or from daylight savings time. The time variable uses 24-hour time and has the following syntax: hh [ :mm [ :ss ] ]

The default is 02:00:00.

The following example of the TZ environment variable specification specifies:

EST5EDT4,M4.1.0,M10.5.0

You can also specify the following syntax:

:pathname

The pathname variable specifies the pathname of a file that is in the tzfile file format and that contains the time conversion information. For example:

:US/Eastern

Refer to the tzfile(4) reference page for more information on the file format.

If the pathname begins with a slash (/), it specifies an absolute pathname; otherwise, the pathname is relative to the /etc/zoneinfo directory. If the specified file is unavailable or corrupted, the system defaults to the offset stored in the kernel tz structure.

The time zone formats differ for SVID 2 and SVID 3. For SVID 2, /usr/sbin/timezone creates the /etc/svid2_tz file. The contents of the TZ and TZC variables are based on the information you supply when you run /usr/sbin/timezone.

For SVID 3, the /etc/svid3_tz file is created during the installation process. The contents of the TZ variable is based upon answers you supply to time zone-related questions at installation time.

Refer to the timezone(3) reference page for more information.

Refer to Chapter 5 for information about configuring a time zone for your system.

4.5    Customizing System Security

The system security tasks of the administrator range from the protection of physical components of the system and its environment to the implementation of an organization's security policies.

Two manuals in the Tru64 UNIX documentation set describe security-related tasks. Refer to the following documents for information about administering local system security:

4.6    Customizing Performance Monitors

The following sections discuss how you set up and use some of the performance monitoring components of the Tru64 UNIX operating system:

4.6.1    Using the Monitoring Performance History (MPH) Utility

The Monitoring Performance History (MPH) utility gathers timely and accurate information on the reliability and availability of the Tru64 UNIX operating system and its hardware environment.

MPH is a suite of shell scripts that copy error log and crash dump information twice per week. The information is automatically copied to Compaq for analysis via Internet Mail. After analysis, reports are generated and distributed to the users of this information, namely Software and Hardware Engineering, Manufacturing, and Compaq Services. This data is internally secure to Compaq and will be used exclusively for monitoring purposes.

The MPH process is automatic, requiring no human intervention and no training. The installation time is approximately 10 minutes.

This software will not impact or degrade your system's performance. MPH runs as a background task, using very negligible CPU resources and is invisible to the user. The disk space required for the collected data and the application is approximately 300 blocks per system. This could be slightly higher in the case of a high number of errors.

Before running MPH, review the following information:

To run MPH on your system, complete the following steps:

  1. Enter the following command to run the MPH script:

    # MPH_OSF_020.CSH
    

  2. Enter the information requested by the script.

Running the MPH_OSF_020.CSH script does the following:

4.6.2    Performance Monitor

The Performance Monitor is a real-time performance monitor that allows you to detect and correct performance problems. You can display graphs and counters to monitor dozens of different system values, including CPU performance, memory usage, disk transfers, file-system capacity, network efficiency, and buffer cache hit rates. In addition, thresholds can be set to alert you to, or correct, a problem when it occurs, and archives of data can be kept for high-speed playback or compression into charts, showing resource usage trends.

The Performance Monitor is an optional subset in the Tru64 UNIX software kit. For information about establishing and using the Performance Monitor, see the Performance Monitor User's Guide.

4.6.3    Using Performance Manager

Performance Manager is a real-time performance monitor that allows users to detect and correct performance problems. Graphs and charts can show hundreds of different system values, including CPU performance, memory usage, disk transfers, file-system capacity, and network efficiency. Thresholds can be set to alert you to correct a problem when it occurs, commands can be run on multiple nodes from the graphical user interface, and archives of data can be kept for high-speed playback or long-term trend analysis.

A new maintenance release of Performance Manager, Version 4.0D, is included with this release and includes the following enhancements:

If you are upgrading from any of the Version 2.x releases, you will also benefit from the following enhancements that were introduced in Version 4.0B:

The release notes for Performance Manager are included on the Associated Products, Volume 2 CD-ROM. The PostScript file is PMGR***_RELNOTES.ps and the text file is PMGR***_RELNOTES.txt.

4.6.4    Using Graphical Tools

Several graphical tools are provided for fast checking of one or more aspects of system performance. These are X-based utilities that will display under any X-compliant windowing interface. Under the Common Desktop Environment, (CDE) the interfaces are organized under the Tool Drawer icon, on the CDE front panel. This icon displays the Application_Manager folder, which contains monitoring tools in the following sub-folders:

As with any graphical application, you can place the icons on the System Administration Desktop for quick access to system information or keep the displays open constantly to monitor any aspect of system performance. Executables for the graphical interfaces are located in /usr/bin/X11.

4.6.5    Using sys_check

The sys_check tool is used to produce an extensive dump of system performance parameters. It enables you to record many system values and parameters, providing a useful baseline of system data. This may be particularly useful before you undertake major changes or perform troubleshooting procedures.

The sys_check can optionally produce an HTML document on standard output. Used with the -escalate, flag the script produces a /var/tmp/escalate* output files by default. These files can be escalated to your technical support site and used for diagnosing system problems and errors. Use the following command to obtain a complete list of options:

# /usr/sbin/sys_check -h

Note that the output produced by sys_check typically varies between 0.5MB and 3MB in size and it can take from 30 minutes to an hour to complete the check.

4.7    Administering CPU Resources Using the Class Scheduler

The Class Scheduler provides you with a method of controlling the execution of tasks or applications by restricting the length of time that they can access the processor (CPU). For example, daemons such as the print spooler can be given less access time. The CPU will then have more time available to perform other tasks. To do this, you specify that the print daemon, /usr/lbin/lpd is allowed to use no more than a certain percentage of the available CPU time. You can group resource user identifiers, such as a user's UID (user identification), into classes and assign the required CPU access time to each class.

This feature can help you to allocate system resources so that the most important work receives the required processing time. For example, you may want to run two versions of a production database on your system. One version is used as part of your business operations, while the other is a test copy, with different tuning parameters. The test database can be assigned to a different class so that your daily operations are not impacted by the testing.

To set up and use the Class Scheduler, you must complete the following steps:

You use the Class Scheduler commands to monitor and control scheduling as follows:

Note that it is not be necessary to perform tasks in the preceding specific sequence. To resolve a resource sharing problem quickly, you can simply execute a series of class_admin commands at the command line to configure a default database, add classes and class members, and enable the class scheduling daemon. The following sections suggest a systematic approach to using class scheduling, although you can use it equally well to create a quick fix to a CPU resource sharing problem.

The following reference pages contain detailed information on using the Class Scheduler commands and options:

Enter the following command to obtain on-line help for class_admin:

# /usr/sbin/class_admin help
 

4.7.1    Class Scheduler Overview

To use the class scheduler, you must first create a database file and populate the file with one or more classes. Each class is assigned a CPU value that controls its access to processing time, expressed as a percentage of the total CPU time availability. One or more applications or groups of applications can be assigned to a class, identified according to a unique system process identifier such as:

Note that process identifiers that are temporary, such as a PID, do not persist across a reboot and cease to exist when a task is completed. They are not stored in the database and have no effect when the system or task is restarted.

Once the database is established, you can enable class scheduling to start a class scheduling daemon and put the CPU access restrictions into effect. Other commands enable you to review classes, change contents or scheduling parameters, and delete components or entire classes. When a class scheduling database is configured and enabled, you can:

4.7.2    Utilities Related to Class Scheduling

The following utilities are also available for use when monitoring and tuning processes:

Refer also to the System Configuration and Tuning guide for more information on tuning options.

4.7.3    Planning Class Scheduling

How you allocate CPU resources will depend on your system environment and what resources and priorities must be considered. A typical scenario is to assign a higher CPU percentage to interactive tasks so that users do not encounter long response times. Most batch or background processes will be assigned a lower CPU percentage, while some specific background processes may require a higher CPU percentage. For example, if a nightly back up is being performed, you might not want it to have such a low CPU percentage that it does not complete in a reasonable time. Alternatively, if there are critical real-time tasks that should take precedence over interactive processes such as process control applications, you may want to assign more resources to real-time tasks. Compaq recommends that you design a baseline, assigning processes to classes and then monitor processes and user feedback to tune the database by moving tasks from class to class or changing the CPU access time of the classes.

4.7.4    Configuring Class Scheduling

Use the class_admin command to configure an initial database. This command provides:

A database must be configured before you can enable class scheduling with the enable command. If a database does not exist when you enter the class_admin command, the command will invoke an interactive session and prompt you to configure a database. If the class_admin command is invoked by a script, a database is configured automatically, using the system defaults.

The following example shows an interactive configuration session using class_admin. Note that in the actual output, the lines will be formatted to fit in 80 columns:

# /usr/sbin/class_admin
                    Class Scheduler Administration
 
configure:
 
Shall processes that have not been explicitly
assigned to a defined class be assigned to a
'default' class?  Enter (yes/no) [no]: yes
 
Enforce class scheduling when the CPU is otherwise
idle? (yes/no) [no]: yes
 
How often do you want the system to reset class usage?
Enter number of seconds (1): 2
class>

The configuration values have the following effect:

In the example, a default class was created and all current processes were assigned to that class. Class scheduling will be enforced even when the CPU is idle and class usage will be reset every five seconds.

To review the current configuration, use the following command:

class> show
Configuration:
 -Processes not explicitly defined in the database are
  class scheduled.
 -If the processor has some idle time, class scheduled
  processes are not allowed to exceed their cpu percentage.
 -The class scheduler will check class CPU usage every 2
  seconds.
 
Class scheduler status: disabled  current database: /etc/class
 
Classes:
 
 default targeted at 100%:
    class members:
    Every one not listed below

The next step in the process is to create classes and populate the classes with system processes such as tasks, daemons, or user accounts using the appropriate identifiers such as UID or SESS.

4.7.5    Creating and Managing Classes

When the database has been configured, you can administer classes as follows:

Some of these options are described briefly in the following sections. For detailed descriptions of command options, refer to the help and reference pages.

4.7.5.1    Creating a Class

To create a class, either use the command mode or enter an interactive session as follows:

# class_admin
class> create high_users 50

The command mode version is entered as follows:


# class_admin create batch_jobs 10
batch_jobs created at 10% cpu usage
 
 
changes saved

The first command creates a class named high_users and assigns a CPU usage restriction of 50 percent. The second command creates a class named batch_jobs and assigns a CPU usage restriction of 10 percent. Note that in command mode, the changes are automatically saved to the database in /etc/class. When making changes to classes interactively, you use the command save to commit changes to the database. If you attempt to end the session with the quit command and there are unsaved changes, you will be prompted to save or discard the changes before quitting the interactive session as follows:

class> quit
Class scheduler database modified.
Save changes? (yes/no) [yes]:yes
 
changes saved

4.7.5.2    Managing Identifier Types Within Classes

Members of a class are identified by any one of five identifiers assigned to processes by the system. You specify one of these identifiers when assigning a process to a class.

Once you have created classes, you can add processes to one or more classes by specifying the ownership of the processes (using the UIDs and GIDs) with the add command. You must specify the type of identifier (id) used and enter one or more unique identifiers. UIDs and GIDs can be determined from the /etc/passwd and /etc/group files. Alternatively, you can use the graphical interface Account Manager (dxaccounts) to display UID and group information.

Individual processes can be added using process identifiers obtained from system files or by using a command such as ps. With the ps command, you can determine the values of PID, PGID and SESS for processes. Using the following command, you can display the PID for every process running on the system:


# /sbin/ps aj

 
 
USER   PID PPID  PGID  SESS JOBC S    TTY          TIME COMMAND
wal   5176 5162  5176  2908   1  S    ttyp1    0:01.30 -sh (csh)
root 12603 5176 12603  2908   1  R  + ttyp1    0:00.05 ps aj

See the ps(1) reference page for more information.

The following identifiers are allowed:

You will probably use ownership identifiers uid and gid most often in your established classes, as these identifiers will persist across a reboot or when class scheduling is stopped and restarted. Individual process identifiers will not persist across a reboot. You can use the account management tools, such as dxaccounts or the Accounts option of the SysMan Menu to list UIDs and GIDs for users and groups. The identifiers associated with types pgrp, session, and pid are temporary, and will not exist on reboot, or when a process terminates.

4.7.5.3    Enabling the Class Scheduler

To enable the class scheduler daemon, you execute the following command:

# class_admin enable
Class scheduling enabled and daemon /usr/sbin/class_daemon started.

To disable the daemon, enter the following command:

# class_admin disable
Class scheduling disabled.

4.7.5.4    Adding Members to a Class

To add a process to a class, you use the add command as shown in the following interactive mode example:


class> add batch_jobs uid 234 457 235
 

Note that you must use one of the unique identifiers previously specified and you cannot add the same identifier to a class more than once. The same procedure can be performed in command mode or from a script as follows:

# class_admin add batch_jobs uid 234 457 235
uid 234 457 235 added to high_users

In command mode, additions to a class are automatically saved to the /etc/class database.

4.7.5.5    Deleting Members From a Class

To delete one or more processes from a class, use the delete command in interactive or command mode. For example:


class> delete high_users uid 11
uid 11 deleted from high_users

This example deletes the single UID number 11 from class high_users.

4.7.5.6    Other Class Management Options

Consult the class_admin(8) reference page for information on the following options:

4.7.6    Using the runclass Command

Once you have established scheduler classes and enabled class scheduling, you can use the runclass command to execute a command in a particular class. You must have root privileges to use this command only if you want a higher CPU percentage than is currently assigned to you. The following command uses the runclass command to open a terminal window and assign it to the previously-created high_users class:

# runclass high_users xterm
 

The following command shows that the pgrp number for the terminal process is now identified as a member of that class:

# class_admin show
.
.
.
class members:
pgrp 24330     pgrp 24351     pgrp 24373

In this example, the identifier for the xterm process has been added to the class. You can use the following command to view the running process:

# ps agx | grep xterm

See the runclass(1) reference page for more information.

4.8    Customizing Power Management

Use the dxpower utility, the sysconfig command, and sysconfigdb database to manage power-saving features on hardware subsystems, such as processors and peripherals, that employ power management capabilities. With these utilities, you enable power management modes and specify the amount of time to wait before shutting off each component in order to save power.

4.8.1    Display Monitors and DPMS

Consult the hardware documentation for any display monitor (screen) that is attached to your system before implementing power management.

Warning - Monitors (screens) that do not support Power Management

Monitors (display screens) that do not support DPMS (Display Power Management Signaling) can be damaged if the DPMS signal is activated. Consult the hardware documentation that came with your monitor, or telephone the manufacturer if you do not have documentation.

The time it takes a DPMS-compatible monitor to come out of a power-saving state depends on the monitor. You will observe that the longer the monitor is in the power-off state, the longer it takes for the display to return as a result of mouse or keyboard activity. This is the result of the monitor phosphor cooling down and the time required to heat it back up. In addition, there are some monitors (for example, the VRC21-HX) that turn off the Power LED (display light) when they enter the DPMS_OFF state. Moving the mouse or typing at the keyboard will not bring the display back. Only by pressing the power switch off, then on again, will mouse and keyboard activity cause the display to return. Because of the varying behavior of monitors when in certain DPMS states, you should read your monitor specification to find out about the expected behavior and other visual features while in each power-savings state.

4.8.2    Using the dxpower Utility's Graphical User Interface

If you have CDE installed on your system, you can open the dxpower power management utility by performing the following steps:

  1. Click on the Application Manager icon.

  2. Double click on the System_Admin application group icon.

  3. Double click on the DailyAdmin application group icon.

  4. Double click on the Power Management icon.

If you are not using CDE, you can start the dxpower utility from the command line as follows:


# /usr/bin/X11/dxpower

When the dxpower utility runs, a power management window is displayed on your screen. The window provides check boxes that you use to select modes of operation, and scales you use to specify dwell times.

For more information about how to use the dxpower utility, start the application and then click on the Help button in the lower right-hand corner of the window.

4.8.3    Implementing Power Management from the Command Line

You can control power management attributes from the command line by using sysconfig commands to manage the sysconfigdb database. For example, you will need to use these commands if you are activating power management for a system from a remote terminal or from a local console terminal.

If you activate the power management tools from a console terminal where CDE is not running, only the graphics_powerdown and graphics_off_dwell attributes apply. Changing the graphics_standby_dwell and graphics_suspend_dwell attribute values has no effect. See Section 4.8.3.1 for descriptions of these attributes.

Caution

Do not attempt to use the sysconfig commands and dxpower simultaneously. If you do, you could encounter unpredictable behavior.

4.8.3.1    Changing Power Management Values

Some power management attributes, such as disk_spindown are enabled by default and can be reviewed using dxpower or by entering the following command at a terminal:


# sysconfig -q pwrmgr

Note

If you observe NOT READY errors in the system error log, the problem may be due to the disk spin-down status rather than a problem with the drive. Consider adjusting the idle time for the drive.

To change the power management values that take effect every time you restart the kernel, you create a file in stanza file format. See stanza(4) for more information. The stanza-formatted file can contain the following power management attributes:

For example, you can create a stanza file called power_mgr.stanza that defines the following values for the attributes:

pwrmgr:
		default_pwrmgr_state=1
		cpu_slowdown=1
		disk_dwell_time=20
		disk_spindown=1
		graphics_powerdown=1
		graphics_standby_dwell=5
		graphics_suspend_dwell=10
		graphics_off_dwell=15

For the disk_dwell_time, graphics_standby_dwell, graphics_suspend_dwell, and graphics_off_dwell attributes, the specified values indicate the number of minutes to wait before powering down the idle hardware. In this case, the power management subsystem waits 20 minutes before disk spindown, and 5, 10, and 15 minutes before DPMS standby, suspend, and off modes, respectively. The remaining attributes, have a value of 1, which indicates that the function is enabled.

After you create and save the stanza file, enter the following command to update the /etc/sysconfigtab database:

# sysconfigdb -a -f power_mgr.stanza pwrmgr

See the sysconfigdb(8) reference page for more information.

4.8.3.2    Changing a Running Kernel or X Server

To change the values of attributes in the running kernel, use the sysconfig -r command. For example:


# sysconfig -r pwrmgr cpu_slowdown=0

You can change more than one attribute at a time, as shown in the following example:

# sysconfig -r pwrmgr graphics_powerdown=1 graphics_standby_dwell=10

See the sysconfig(8) reference page for more information.

See the dpms switches in the Xdec(1X) and xset(1X) reference pages for information about changing Display power management Signalling modes and values in the X Server.