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Linux Process and Service Management

Managing Processes and Services

This article provides a basic introduction to managing processes and services in Linux. We will cover common commands for viewing running processes and managing system services.

Linux Process and Service Management

This article provides a basic overview of managing processes and services in Linux. We will cover common commands for viewing running processes and managing system services.

The ps command is used to display information about currently running processes. It has numerous options; here's a basic example:

ps aux

This will show a comprehensive list of processes.

The top command provides a dynamic, real-time view of running processes. It continuously updates the list, showing CPU and memory usage.

top

Press q to exit top.

Do You Know? You can use the interactive features of top to sort processes by CPU usage, memory usage, etc.

systemctl is the primary command for managing services in systemd-based systems (most modern Linux distributions). To list all services:

systemctl list-units

To start a service (replace myservice with the actual service name):

systemctl start myservice

To stop a service:

systemctl stop myservice

Important Note: Be cautious when stopping system services. Stopping critical services can lead to system instability.

In older init systems (like SysVinit), the service command is used. However, systemctl is generally preferred on modern systems.

service myservice start

service myservice stop

Avoid This: Using service on systemd systems is generally discouraged in favor of systemctl.
  • Use ps for a snapshot of running processes.
  • Use top for a dynamic view of processes.
  • Use systemctl to manage services in most modern Linux distributions.
  • Avoid using service on systemd systems.

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