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Debian committee members vote for systemd as init system

lists.debian.org

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Re: Debian committee members vote for systemd as init system

#22

Post by lmm »

jordigh wrote: post #8

For a fun retelling of the events (I think this only works on Firefox): http://aceattorney.sparklin.org/jeu.php?id_proces=57684

It works perfectly in chrome. I don't know what's with the obnoxious yellow banner - I thought firefox people were against the "best viewed in internet explorer" attitude.

Re: Debian committee members vote for systemd as init system

#23

Post by brownbat »

hayksaakian wrote: post #16

Could somebody explain like I'm five?

I would start with K900's rundown here: http://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/132gle/eli5_the_syste...

More on the Debian debate: https://wiki.debian.org/Debate/initsystem/upstart

And the Phoronix has a good overview of how this is playing out: http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTU1NjA

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTQ5NzQ

Re: Debian committee members vote for systemd as init system

#26

Post by gpcz »

aoxfordca wrote: post #19
hayksaakian wrote: post #16

Could somebody explain like I'm five?

I second... Wannabe hacker and don't understand

A Linux operating system has a core program called a kernel, which has the job of creating and maintaining an environment where other programs can run. Other programs include the login prompt, the shell that lets you execute programs, etc. However, there is a chicken-and-the-egg problem: once the environment is running, how do you run the first program? This is solved by having the Linux kernel run a program called "init" as the first program, which manages everything else (bringing up services, executing the login prompt, etc). There are multiple versions of this "init" program with different features and idiosyncrasies -- the Debian committee voted to use one called systemd rather than some competitors. Switching versions of init requires system administrators to relearn how to do many things, so the committee spent a lot of time weighing a lot of factors before making this decision.

Re: Debian committee members vote for systemd as init system

#29

Post by pingswept »

aoxfordca wrote: post #19
hayksaakian wrote: post #16

Could somebody explain like I'm five?

I second... Wannabe hacker and don't understand

A group of programmers who make a popular version of Linux have decided to make their version of Linux start with a new program when the computer boots. Instead of using a program from the 80's called "System V init scripts", they have decided to switch to a new program called "systemd." Both programs have the major responsibility of starting the rest of the programs that make up Linux.

I found this explanation of systemd interesting (though more suitable for a wannabe hacker than a 5-year-old (though I suppose the two sets may not be disjoint)): http://0pointer.de/blog/projects/systemd.html

Re: Debian committee members vote for systemd as init system

#30

Post by pjscott »

druiid wrote: post #20
jiggy2011 wrote: post #13

Not a surprise, was there a compelling reason for upstart at all?

Not that I can think of. Upstart is slightly simpler than systemd to build configuration files for, but that's also because it doesn't have any advanced features like memory/processor/IO limits or the like. Additionally it doesn't even properly manage child processes... so you have to use wrappers to get Unicorn management working right in Upstart.

Upstart can set resource limits on anything setrlimit(2) offers, including memory and processor. It's not as flexible or reliable as systemd's use of control groups, though.
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