Customizing /etc/inittab

The /etc/inittab file lists system processes (for example, commands and shell scripts) that are started when z/OS® UNIX is initialized. The file also identifies processes that can be restarted automatically when they end.

To create the/etc/inittab file, copy the /samples/inittab file to /etc/inittab as described in Steps for customizing /etc/inittab and add additional entries to it. For example, if you want to take advantage of the respawn capability, you can add an inittab entry to start daemons such as syslogd and cron from /etc/inittab instead of from /etc/rc. When the respawn capability is used, programs that end are automatically restarted or respawned.

Tip: When the /etc/inittab file is installed, it is processed instead of the /etc/rcfile. Do not create the /etc/inittab file if you want the /etc/rc file to be run directly from the initialization process. If you want to use /etc/inittab in addition to the existing /etc/rc file, then include an entry in the /etc/inittab file to start /etc/rc. For example:

etcrc::wait:/etc/rc >/etc/log 2>&1

Rule: The /etc/inittab file must be installed into the file system before the system is IPLed or before it is restarted. It is processed only once during initialization and also once during OMVS restart.