Ubuntu
base-files package

"telinit 2" doesn't stop X

Bug #44314 reported by Ed Carp
4
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
base-files (Ubuntu)
Invalid
Wishlist
Scott James Remnant (Canonical)

Bug Description

Binary package hint: base-files

"telinit 2" should stop X and bring the user to a text-based login prompt, while "telinit 3" should bring up xdm (or similar). The correct runlevel for multi-user mode should be 3, not 2.

Revision history for this message
Emmet Hikory (persia) wrote :

Although multi-user mode is traditionally 3, Ubuntu has been using 2 for this since inception.

Changed in base-files:
status: Unconfirmed → Confirmed
Revision history for this message
Scott James Remnant (Canonical) (canonical-scott) wrote :

That's only correct if you're a Red Hat user.

Debian (and thus Ubuntu) have always used runlevel 2 by default, and left 3-5 for users to modify as they see fit

Changed in base-files:
status: Confirmed → Rejected
assignee: nobody → keybuk
Revision history for this message
Ed Carp (erc) wrote : Re: [Bug 44314] Re: "telinit 2" doesn't stop X

On Thu, 14 Sep 2006, an orbiting mind control laser caused Scott James...:

> That's only correct if you're a Red Hat user.

No, it's correct from a historical perspective of UNIX. All UNIX
derivitives stop X at runlevel 2, all the way back to AT&T's System III
and SunOS (Berkeley derivitive).

Revision history for this message
Scott James Remnant (Canonical) (canonical-scott) wrote :

That's complete and utter arse gravy I'm afraid.

Solaris (the modern incarnation of SunOS) starts X at runlevel 2, along with all other multi-user facilites except networking (which it starts at runlevel 3). runlevel 5, which RedHat traditionally uses for starting X, is shutdown!

HP-UX starts X at runlevel 4; 2 is the multi-user mode, 3 enables NFS. 5 is unused.

OpenBSD uses runlevels to determine security levels.

ULTRIX, Digital Unix / Tru64 all start X at runlevel 2, but do not enable NFS until runlevel 3.

Irix starts X at runlevel 2, with networking in 3. 5 is "enter firmware" mode.

SysV starts X at runlevel 2, with NFS enabled in 3. 5 is "enter firmware"

And, not to put a too fine a point on it, but runlevels weren't even _introduced_ until AT&T UNIX System V! (Which is why we call it "sysvinit"). Previous UNIXes used a single /etc/rc script, or iterated a single /etc/rc.d directory.

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