RHCSA - Manage Basic Networking: Configure Network Services to Start Automatically at Boot

A network service refers to a software application or process that runs in the background and provides specific network-related functionality or resources to other devices or applications on the network. These services allow devices to communicate, share data, and perform various network-related tasks which is why it is important that the services start automatically at boot time.

Common Network Services

The below table depicts a few common network services:

Application Name	Service Name	Description
Apache HTTP Server	httpd	A powerful web server software for hosting websites.
OpenSSH Server	sshd	Enables secure remote login and file transfer (SSH).
Postfix	postfix	Mail server software for sending and receiving emails.
Samba	smb	Allows file and printer sharing with Windows systems (SMB).
NetworkManager	NetworkManager	Provides network configuration and connection management.
BIND	named	Implements DNS functionality, translating domain names.
NTP client/server	chronyd	A versatile implementation of the Network Time Protocol.
DHCP	dhcpd	Automatically assigns IP addresses to devices on a network.
firewalld	firewalld	Firewall management tool for dynamically managing rules.

Configure Network Services to Start on Boot

To configure network services to start on boot you use the systemctl enable <service> command.

Ensure the NetworkManager service is set to start at boot:

Check the full status of the service, which shows latest log entries for the service and information on whether the service is enabled (start on boot) or active (currently running or not):

systemctl status NetworkManager

Press the Q key to return to the prompt (if required).

The NetworkManager service is enabled by default, so the output should show enabled on the Loaded: row:

● NetworkManager.service - Network Manager
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/NetworkManager.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Sat 2023-08-19 07:48:59 BST; 21min ago
       Docs: man:NetworkManager(8)
   Main PID: 984 (NetworkManager)
      Tasks: 3 (limit: 48714)
     Memory: 9.7M
        CPU: 167ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/NetworkManager.service
             └─984 /usr/sbin/NetworkManager --no-daemon
...
...

You can more directly check to see if the service is enabled to start on boot by running:

systemctl is-enabled NetworkManager

This will return either enabled or disabled to the screen.

If it returned disabled, then to enable the service to start on boot:

sudo systemctl enable NetworkManager

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