SERV_CONFIG(8)

📦 version 1.3.14, in opensuse-leap 16.0

💖 SERV_CONFIG(8) — Linux on Power Service Tools 💖

okay bestie, so this one is serv_config, and it lives in section 8 of the Linux on Power Service Tools manual. she's a system-level girly, she needs root energy, and she's here to help you peek at and poke at all the system service policies and settings. let's get into it ✨

🌸 NAME 🌸

serv_config — view and configure system service policies and settings on IBM ppc64 platforms

like, that's literally the whole job description 💅

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

/usr/sbin/serv_config [-b] [-s] [-r] [-m]
/usr/sbin/serv_config -l
/usr/sbin/serv_config -z filename
/usr/sbin/serv_config -e var[=value]
/usr/sbin/serv_config [--surveillance[=settings]]
                      [--reboot-policy[=settings]]
                      [--ring-indicate[=settings]]
                      [--remote-maint[=settings]]
                      [--force]

look at all those ways to run her 😭 she's versatile, she contains multitudes 🫶

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so serv_config is the utility you use to view and manipulate various system service policies and settings on PAPR-compliant PowerPC-64 machines — think IBM pSeries, iSeries, System p or System i machines. yes, those exact ones. iconic hardware recognition moment 👑

she can run in one of two modes, and this is the part to actually remember:

  • interactive mode — you get prompted for the value of each variable in the specified category. she literally asks you, bestie. hand-holding. 🎀
  • macro mode — the string you hand her on the command line gets parsed for the values of the variables in the category. no prompting, all vibes, straight in.
real talk: macro mode is for expert use only. most users should be using the interactive options — that's -s, -b, -r, and -m. please do not cosplay an expert if you are not one 🙈
NOTE: it is recommended that the current service settings are backed up with the -l option before the settings are manipulated with this utility. and if a value gets mistakenly updated to an incorrect value, all the settings can be restored to the backed up values with the -z option. so: back up first, girlboss later. this is the way 💀

💜 OPTIONS 💜

  • -l — list all of the current service settings. and here's the slay part: if you store this output to a file, those settings can be restored later with the -z option. back-it-up energy, we love to see it 💾
  • -e var[=value] — if you give her only var, she displays the value of the specified service setting. if you also give her a value, she updates the specified service setting to that specified value. peek or poke, your call ✨
  • -s — interactively update the Surveillance settings. she'll walk you through each one 🧚
  • -b — interactively update the Reboot policies. yes ma'am, policies plural 🔥
  • -r — interactively update the Remote Power-On settings (either Ring Indicate Power-On or Wake On LAN). two flavours, one flag 💅
  • -z filename — restore the service settings that were previously stored to filename (using the -a option). the backup becomes the comeback 👑

👑 ADVANCED OPTIONS 👑

okay so the following options are for expert users only, no cap. they're intended to be used by scripts and utilities which have been designed to automate the retrieval/manipulation of service settings. i.e. let the robots do it, that's the whole point 🤖

  • --surveillance[=settings] — view or update the Surveillance settings in macro mode. if the settings argument isn't specified, all of the Surveillance variables get printed along with their corresponding values. if the settings argument is specified, the Surveillance settings are updated to those specified values. the settings argument should be in this format: sp-sen,sp-sti,sp-del,immediate 🍓
  • --reboot-policy[=settings] — view or update the Reboot policies in macro mode. no settings argument means all of the Reboot policy variables get printed with their corresponding values. with settings, the Reboot policies are updated to the specified values. and here it splits by system generation, so listen up:
    • on legacy systems, the settings argument should be in this format: sp-bootrt-limit,sp-os-plt-reboot,sp-plt-reboot,sp-dookc,sp-ac-reboot
    • on recent systems, the following format is used: partition_auto_restart,platform_auto_power_restart

two eras, two formats, both valid. iykyk 🌈

  • --remote-pon[=settings] — view or update the Remote Power-On settings in macro mode. if the settings argument isn't specified, all of the Remote Power-On variables are printed along with their corresponding values. if it is specified, the Remote Power-On settings get updated to those specified values. and the format depends on what your system supports:
    • for systems with support for Ring Indicate Power-On, the settings argument should be in this format: sp-ri-pon,sp-rb4-pon
    • on systems with support for Wake On LAN, the format is as follows: sp-remote-pon 🦋
  • --remote-maint[=settings] — view or update the Remote Maintenance settings in macro mode. no settings means all of the Remote Maintenance variables get printed along with their corresponding values. with settings, the Remote Maintenance settings are updated to the specified values. simple, clean, effective 💜
  • --force — do not prompt for confirmation before modifying system settings. only valid in macro mode (ignored in interactive mode). this is the "no take-backs" flag, so like... be sure. fr fr 💀

🎀 SEE ALSO 🎀

bootlist(8), lscfg(8), nvram(8)

go read those too, they're all part of the same friend group 🫶

and that's the whole page, bestie 🌸 this one shipped with the Linux manual, dated May 2004, and it's the SERV_CONFIG(8) page from Linux on Power Service Tools. old but still serving 💅✨

📦 where this page comes from