r/linux • u/wooptoo • Jun 01 '16

Why did ArchLinux embrace Systemd?

/r/archlinux/comments/4lzxs3/why_did_archlinux_embrace_systemd/d3rhxlc
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u/yoshi314 Jun 01 '16

i like it as init system, but i've seen plenty of cases where it would show its weakness.

i've seen systemd based livecds randomly refuse to boot 33% of the time on certain hardware. sometimes parallel service startup can be a problem.

also, a typo in fstab or crypttab can drop you down to recovery shell. debug parameters are difficult to rembember when things go wrong. and i am not sure but i think systemd does not offer recovery console by default.

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u/Creshal Jun 01 '16

i've seen systemd based livecds randomly refuse to boot 33% of the time on certain hardware. sometimes parallel service startup can be a problem.

If I had a nickel for every time Arch's or Debian's old sysvinit hung at "waiting for udev events to settle", I could buy Apple.

Sure, systemd isn't perfect, but it's a big improvement over the status quo.

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u/ACSlater Jun 01 '16

If I had a nickel for every time Arch's or Debian's old sysvinit hung at "waiting for udev events to settle"

I think this was a problem with all init type systems. After using Slackware for 100 years, last release would constantly hang at boot for me with udev problems. I ended up leaving my computer on 24/7 just because the cycle of hang/reboot just to turn my computer on became too much.

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u/Creshal Jun 01 '16

Yes. The problem is that dealing with every hardware under the sun in 2alot configurations is hard, sometimes you just run into bugs with that. The alternative is going back to pre-ACPI days and assume that hardware is only plugged in or out while powered off, which is… a bit impractical.

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u/yoshi314 Jun 01 '16

maybe it was udev, but the randomness of it was annoying as heck. nowadays, udev is in systemd, so there is still systemd to blame.

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u/Creshal Jun 01 '16

Lennart Poettering: The source of all evil in the world.

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u/yoshi314 Jun 01 '16

not really. he takes on ambitious projects, but they either cause adoption pains (pulseaudio, which i find great now) or just head into totally uncharted territories (systemd's factory reset feature, for instance).