Creating the /etc/nologin File

Create this file to disallow user logins and notify users when a system will be unavailable for an extended period of time because of a system shutdown or routine maintenance.

If a user attempts to log in to a system where this file exists, the contents of the nologin file is displayed, and the user login is terminated. Superuser logins are not affected. For more information, see the nologin(4) man page.