Linux Init Processes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Linux Init Processes - Essay Example These processes offer a common language that allows the computer to work together with the installed software and hardware. The following report focuses on the Init process, a process that runs in the Linux operating system (Goodwin). The report analyzes the report in detail, its running level and configuration. Introduction to Linux Developed in 1991 by Linus Torvalds, Linux is an open source operating system developed under the GNU General Public License (Firewall.cx Newsletter). This operating system also goes under the name GNU/Linux as its main supporting user space libraries and system tools originated from the GNU project. Its defining component is the Linux Kernel which has set a platform for the establishment of numerous operating systems released on the basis of this platform. It was initially developed for Intel x86 systems. Since then, it has undergone major transformations and has now been ported to more hardware platforms. Its popularity has also increased over time, an d it is now the operating system of choice among servers, mainframe computers and supercomputers (Firewall.cx Newsletter). Commercial applications under the Linux platforms have also experienced immense growth over the past few years. Linux has also made significant contributions to the mobile handset market where it is incorporated into embedded systems. For instance, it is the operating system of choice in some video game consoles, network routers and most importantly, the android system whose use has increased significantly among mobile handset users. Linux Source Code As stated earlier, Linux is developed on the free and open source software platform (About.com). This means that anyone can use, modify and distribute its source code under certain licenses. By definition, source code refers to the programming language statements designed to facilitate the operations of the computer. Linux Init Processes. Linux Init Processes refers to final process in the booting process. It initi alises all programs as defined in the file /etc/inittab. The file usually contains several instances of â€Å"Getty† which become started by the Init process. The instances of Getty then start the shell processes. Basically, Init has control over numerous independent processes needed by the system. Init gets everything run properly after the kernel has started running fully (Linux.die.net). It creates and runs the user space which involves looking for and installing file systems, starting essential user services and also switching to a user environment after the system start up becomes complete. This step does everything that the system needs done at the system initialisation. At the system initialisation, processes such as setting the clock and initialisation of serial ports become accomplished. Init continues reading from the â€Å"/etc/inittab† which describes the set up of the system at each run level. The procedure through which the Init process goes through can b e summarised as follows: Reading the â€Å"/etc/inittab† initialisation file - Init reads a configuration script which sets up a path, swaps and checks the file systems (Garrels). This step takes care of several things such as setting up the clock and initialisation of serial ports. Init continues r