Services
A list of common services on Red Hat 9, but most of them should be common to other Linux variations.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| anacron | A periodic command scheduler. |
| apmd | A set of user-level programs to control the Advanced Power Management system. |
| atd | Runs jobs queued for later execution. |
| autofs | Control the operation of the automount daemons running on the Linux system. |
| chargen | Used for testing TCP and UDP connections, should be disabled. |
| chargen-udp | UDP version of above. |
| crond | Daemon to execute scheduled commands. |
| cups | Common UNIX Printing System. |
| cups-lpd | Receives print jobs and report printer status to lpd clients. |
| daytime | The Daytime protocol is a method of syncing multiple systems' time on a network (TCP port 37). |
| daytime-udp | UDP version of above on UDP port 37. |
| firstboot | Clears and sets default settings for after an installation. |
| gpm | Console mouse handler. |
| iptables | A firewall service. |
| irda | Allow for infrared connections. |
| isdn | ISDN deamon for ISDN connections. |
| keytable | Loads the appropriate keyboard map from "/etc/sysconfig/keyboard". |
| kudsu | Recognizes hardware at startup. Only needed when you add new hardware. |
| netfs | Mounts and unmounts Network Fils System (NFS), Windows (SMB), and Netware (NCP) file systems. |
| network | Brings up all the network interfaces under the directory "/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts". |
| nfs | Automounts MFS and SMBFS shares. |
| nfslock | Handles locks on nfs file. |
| nscd | The Name Switch Cache Daemon. This handles password and group lookups for running programs and caches the information for the next query. Normally used to support NIS. |
| ntpd | Network Time Protocol daemon. This required if you want to be a time server. |
| pcmcia | Uses PCMCIA kernel modules, only needed by laptops. |
| portmap | Required for NFS. But is very insecure, disable it if you don't use NFS. |
| random | Generated random numbers and seeds "/dev/random". |
| rawdevices | Allows software like Oracle to access a raw, unformatted filesystem for improved performance. |
| rcd | Ximian Red Carpet Daemon. |
| rhnsd | The Red Hat Network Daemon. |
| sendmail | For sending mail, not needed if you always use your ISP's SMTP server. |
| sgi_fam | A security-related daemon that can monitor system file integrity and network access attempts. |
| smb | SAMBA Windows style disk / printer sharing. |
| snmpd | Simple Network Management Protocol. For large networks of many machines. |
| snmptrapd | See above. |
| sshd | This provides the standard Secure Shell service. It allows users to securely log in via an encrypted connection and authenticate using a variety of means (TCP port 22). |
| swat | The Samba Web Admin Tool. To use it, connect to port 901 with your favorite web browser. |
| syslog | Allows many daemons to log messages to various system log files. |
| time | An RFC 868 time server. This protocol provides a site-independent, machine readable date and time (TCP). |
| time-udp | UDP version of above. |
| xinitd | A "super daemon" that is more flexible than the older inetd. |