Question

How do I specify dependencies between init scripts on CentOS?

E.g. I need that when service “tomcat” is started it first start service “soffice”.

On Gentoo we can do:

depend() {
  need soffice
}

But what about CentOS?

Answer 1

CentOS out of the box uses an integer to specify the start/stop.

If you look inside an init script you’ll most likely see: chkconfig: - 85 15

First number: start priority (higher = lower priority)

Second: Stop priority (lower = lower priority)

If you hop into /etc/rc3.d (or depending on run level).

Files start with either an S (start) or a K (kill, stop) followed by an integer. Same concept applies in regards to numerics.

In some cases you’ll see: chkconfig: - 2345 85 15

To change order, simply adjust those numbers.

This simply represents the run levels (2,3,4,5).