systemctl and service: A Comparison of Linux Service Management Commands

systemctl and service: A Comparison of Linux Service Management Commands

In Linux systems, we often need to manage and control system services. The two main commands used for this purpose are systemctland service. Although they are both used to manage services, they are related to different init systems. In this article, we'll discuss the difference between systemctland and how to see if a is mapped to .serviceservicesystemctl

1. systemctlandsystemd

systemctlare systemdcommands related to initializing the system. systemdis the default init system for many modern Linux distributions (such as Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, etc.). systemdThe parallel startup method is adopted, which provides faster startup speed and higher flexibility. systemctlis systemdthe primary command-line tool for controlling and managing system services, mount points, devices, and more.

2. serviceandSysVinit/Upstart

serviceCommands are related to the legacy SysVinitand Upstartinit systems. Older Linux distributions (such as early Ubuntu, Red Hat, etc.) used these init systems. serviceCommands are used to start, stop, restart and query the status of system services. Although many modern Linux distributions have switched to using systemd, they usually still provide servicethe command as backward compatibility support.

3. Check serviceif is mapped tosystemctl

To see serviceif a command is mapped to systemctl, this can servicebe done by checking the actual filetype and link of the command.

1. Open a terminal.
   Enter the following command to view servicethe details of the command:

ls -l $(which service)

If servicethe command was mapped to systemctl, the output might look like:

lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 21 Oct 13 10:10 /usr/sbin/service -> /usr/bin/systemctl

This shows /usr/sbin/servicethat is a symbolic link, pointing to /usr/bin/systemctl. In this case, the service command is mapped to systemctl.

If servicethe command is not mapped to systemctl, the output will show a standalone executable instead of a symlink. In this case, servicethe command may still be related to the legacy SysVinitor Upstartinit system.

Summarize

systemctlThe and servicecommands are both used to manage Linuxsystem services, but they apply to different init systems respectively. On modern Linuxdistributions, it is recommended to use systemctlsystemd to manage services. If you are using an older distribution, you may need to use servicethe command. In many cases, servicecommands are mapped to systemctlcommands to maintain compatibility.

By understanding the relationship and difference between these two commands, we can better manage Linux system services. On modern distributions, using systemd and linux systemctlusually results in better performance and flexibility. However, serviceit is still important to understand the command, as some older distributions and environments may still use it.