Darren New <dne### [at] sanrrcom> wrote:

> This line says "run /sbin/vgetty with the argument ttyS0" and restart it
> each time it exits. Run it at runlevels 3, 4, and 5, which are the multiuser
> runlevels. I fear I don't remember what the S0 is, altho I suspect it means
> "kill it if you go single-user or shut down."

Thanks for the description.  I hadn't made the connection to '345' being the
runlevel.  *Is* there such a thing as a runlevel for Ubuntu?  If so, how do I
determine what runlevel I'm currently at?


> I'm just trying to give you pointers to google on. :-)

Which is exactly what I need.  Thanks!


> Be aware that not all modems can actually do voice, either.

Good point, although I think I've confirmed that it is.


> init.d on the other hand looks through the directory, figures out what order
> to start the various servers in, and invokes the shell scripts with the
> appropriate arguments (usually "start"). You can manually invoke the shell
> scripts to change whether something is running or not, or invoke them with
> an argument that says to exit with a return code indicating whether it's
> running or not. Each script is responsible for dealing with its own
> subsystem in entirety, including keeping track of which process is running
> the server and so on.

Aha!  This makes more sense.  Does this mean I can basically add any homemade
script I want into the init.d directory?  For example, I could write a script
to write periodic statistics to a log file...?


> If you're not running graphics (i.e., X Windows, GNOME, KDE, etc) then it
> gives you six separate shells/logins. Sort of like having multiple monitors
> - it gives you more room.

Okay, that makes sense.  If I *am* running GNOME, then can I disable some of the
shells?  It seems each one uses ~500K, and this old system is already
memory-deficient.

Thanks, Darren, for the help.  (And patience!)

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