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From: gda@creare.UUCP (Gray Abbott)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards,comp.unix.questions
Subject: /etc/rc.2 and background processes
Summary: background processes started from /etc/rc.d die. Why?
Keywords: /etc/rc SysV
Message-ID: <890@creare.UUCP>
Date: 10 Dec 88 22:13:44 GMT
Reply-To: gda@creare.UUCP (Gray Abbott)
Organization: Creare, Inc.  Hanover, NH
Lines: 22

I have a Microport SYS V/AT and have a question about about /etc/rc.d .
I want to have the system check for the need to run a tape backup at
boot time and run the backup if needed.  I wrote scripts which
properly decides whether to do the backup, including asking for console
input to confirm the operation; then that script runs a second script,
in the background, which actually does the backup.  All of that worked
fine, but when I placed the first script in /etc/rc.d, the second
script fails to finish.

I think this happens because init is sending a SIGKILL to the
background process when /etc/rc2 exits, or something like that.  The
inittab has /etc/rc2 running at level 2, but also with the "action"
specified as "wait".  If I have the first script run the second in the
foreground, everything works, but I have to wait for the whole backup
to complete before I can login.

Anyway, I'd like to know what's going on, and also how to make it do
what I want.  Why does the background process die?  How can I prevent
this?


					..dartvax!creare!gda