power-off button and /etc/inittab

[Net Llama!]

On Thu, 24 Oct 2002, Andrew Mathews wrote:
> m.w.chang wrote:
> > without attaching a keyboard to my server, I could press the power off
> > button and expect the linux to gracefully run `poweroff -n`, just like
> > the Window$. ctrl-alt-del is just a different way of `shutdown -r now`
> >
> > Just 2 days ago, I needed to shutdown my linux server in a hurry (fire
> > in my building's ilft control room). well, still no life service until
> > now for those living on the 20th floor. hoho...
> >
> >> Huh?  The power button isn't part of the keyboard, so no.  I dont'
> >> understand what you're trying to do anyway.
> >
> >
> >
>
> If you can find a way to integrate the power switch into the operating
> system it would work, however you're asking it to essentially do a
> graceful shutdown *after* pulling the power cord from it. Kinda like
> sending out an email to let everyone know the mail server is down. After
> the fact is too late.

Indeed.  I think this *might* be possible on some sets of hardware where
the power button isn't a mechanical button, but a electronic button, that
gets its input trappedc by some kind of intelligenc3 before the actual
command to terminate power reaches the power supply.  THis is definitely
not a universale thing though.

-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lonni J Friedman				netllama at linux-sxs.org
Linux Step-by-step & TyGeMo		     http://netllama.ipfox.com