The following table lists system administration tasks and the type of shutdown method that is required to initiate the task.
Table 8–1 Shutting Down a System
Reason for System Shutdown |
Appropriate Run Level |
For More Information |
---|---|---|
To turn off system power due to anticipated power outage. |
Run level 0, where it is safe to turn off power | |
To change kernel parameters in the /etc/system file. |
Run level 6 (reboot the system) | |
To perform file system maintenance, such as backing up or restoring system data. |
Run level S (single-user level) | |
To repair a system configuration file such as /etc/system. |
N/A |
|
To add or remove hardware from the system. |
Reconfiguration boot (also to turn off power when adding or removing hardware) |
Adding a Peripheral Device to a System in System Administration Guide: Devices and File Systems |
To repair an important system file that is causing system boot failure. |
N/A |
|
To boot the kernel debugger (kmdb) to track down a system problem. |
Run level 0, if possible | |
To recover from a hung system and force a crash dump. |
N/A |
|
Reboot the system by using the kernel debugger (kmdb), if the debugger can't be loaded at runtime. |
Run level 6 (reboot the system) |
SPARC: How to Boot the System With the Kernel Debugger (kmdb) ,x86: How to Boot a System With the Kernel Debugger in the GRUB Boot Environment (kmdb) |
For examples of shutting down a server or a stand-alone system, see Chapter 10, Shutting Down a System (Tasks).