Managing Services with systemctl

Ubuntu: Managing Services with systemctl

On Ubuntu servers, services are managed using systemctl, part of the systemd system and service manager. This guide explains how to start, stop, enable, disable, and monitor services on Ubuntu servers.

Step 1: Check Service Status

sudo systemctl status nginx

This shows whether the service is running, stopped, or failed.

Step 2: Start a Service

sudo systemctl start nginx

This starts the service immediately.

Step 3: Stop a Service

sudo systemctl stop nginx

This stops the service immediately.

Step 4: Restart a Service

sudo systemctl restart nginx

This restarts the service, useful after configuration changes.

Step 5: Reload a Service

sudo systemctl reload nginx

This reloads the service configuration without stopping it.

Step 6: Enable a Service at Boot

sudo systemctl enable nginx

This ensures the service starts automatically when the server boots.

Step 7: Disable a Service at Boot

sudo systemctl disable nginx

This prevents the service from starting automatically at boot.

Step 8: List All Services

systemctl list-units --type=service

This displays all active services on the system.

Best Practices

• Always check service status after starting or restarting
• Enable critical services (like web servers, databases) at boot
• Use journalctl -u servicename to view service logs
• Restart services after configuration changes to apply updates

Note: HostPalace servers use systemd for service management, making it easy to control applications and ensure uptime.