Serviceconf is a graphical application developed by Red Hat to configure which SysV services in /etc/rc.d/init.d are started at boot time (for runlevels 3, 4, and 5) and which xinetd services are enabled. It also allows you to start, stop, and restart SysV services as well as restart xinetd.
To start Serviceconf, use one of the following command:
On the GNOME desktop, go to the Main Menu Button (on the Panel) => Programs => System => Serviceconf.
On the KDE desktop, go to the Main Menu Button (on the Panel) => Red Hat => System => Serviceconf.
Type the command serviceconf at a shell prompt (for example, in an XTerm or GNOME-terminal).
Serviceconf displays the current runlevel as well as which runlevel you are currently editing. To edit a different runlevel, select Edit Runlevel from the pulldown menu and select runlevel 3, 4, or 5.
Click on the service to display a brief description of the service at the bottom of the window. Serviceconf lists the services from /etc/rc.d/init.d as well as the services controlled by xinetd.
To start, stop, or restart a service immediately, select the service and choose the action from the Actions pulldown menu. You can also select the service and click the start, stop, or restart button on the toolbar.
If you select an xinetd service such as telnet, the Start, Stop, and Restart buttons will not be active. If you change the Start at Boot value of an xinetd service, you must click the Save Changes button to restart xinetd and disable/enable the xinetd services that you changed.
To enable a service at boot time for the currently selected runlevel, check the checkbox beside the name of the service and under the Start at Boot column. After configuring the runlevel, you must apply the changes. Select File => Save Changes from the pulldown menu or click Save Changes button.
 | Warning |
|---|---|
When you save changes to xinetd services, xinetd is restarted. When you save changes to other services, the runlevel is reconfigured, but the changes do not take effect immediately. |
If you check or uncheck the Start at Boot value for a service in /etc/rc.d/init.d, the Save Changes button will become active. Click it to reconfigure the currently selected runlevel. The changes do not affect the system immediately. For example, assume you are configuring runlevel 3. If you change the Start at Boot value for the anacron service from checked to unchecked and then click the Save Changes button, the runlevel 3 configuration changes so that anacron is not started at boot time. However, runlevel 3 is not reinitialized, so anacron is still running. You have one of three options from this point:
Stop the anacron service — Stop the service by selecting it from the list and clicking the Stop the selected service button. A message will be displayed stating that the service was stopped successfully.
Reinitialize the runlevel — Reinitialize the runlevel by going to a shell prompt (such as an XTerm or GNOME-terminal) and typing the command telinit 3 (where 3 is the runlevel number). This option is recommended if you change the Start at Boot value of more than one service and want to activate the changes immediately.
Do nothing else — If it is not important that the anacron service is stopped, you can wait until the system is rebooted for the service to stop. The next time the system is booted, the runlevel will be initialized without the anacron service running.
Refer to the Official Red Hat Linux Customization Guide and Official Red Hat Linux Reference Guide for more information on runlevels, xinetd, and SysV.
Serviceconf was written by Tim Powers <timp@redhat.com> and Bill Nottingham <notting@redhat.com>. This software may be freely redistributed under the terms of the GPL. Please report all bugs you find at the Red Hat bug tracking system at http://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/.