Using a Oneshot Systemd Service

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Using a Oneshot Systemd Service

Managing services with `systemd` is a skill that modern Linux system administrators require to enable or disable processes to run as a service on the system. Being able to troubleshoot systemd services is invaluable for correct system operation. In this activity, you will learn about managing systemd services by troubleshooting why a oneshot systemd service is failing. Once this activity is complete, you should be comfortable managing `systemd` services with `systemctl`.

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Lab Info

Level

Intermediate

Last updated

Jul 23, 2025

Duration

15m

Challenge

Use systemctl to check the status of target.service. Update the systemd oneshot service unit file named target.service.

Using systemctl check the status of the target.service.

systemctl status target.service
systemctl status -l target.service

Using the editor of your choice, update the /etc/systemd/system/target.service file to match the following contents.

[Unit] 
Description=Log when default target reached
After=cloud-final.service 

[Service] 
Type=oneshot        
RemainAfterExit=yes   
ExecStart=/bin/echo "--->  Reached default.target"
ExecStart=/bin/ls -l /etc/systemd/system/default.target 

[Install]  
# WantedBy is similar to runlevel
WantedBy=default.target

Challenge

Reload the `systemd` daemon for updated unit file to be available. Check to see if service will start.
Use the systemctl command to reload the systemd daemon, so the new unit file can be managed.
```
systemctl daemon-reload
```
Use the systemctl command to start and check status of the target.service.
```
systemctl start target.service
systemctl status target.service
```
Challenge

Enable the `target.service` and reboot system.
Using the systemctl command enable the target.service and reboot the system to verify operation of service at boot time.
```
systemctl enable target.service
reboot
```
Challenge

Reconnect to system and check the status of the `target.service`.
First, you will need to use your lab credentials to reconnect to the system and access the root account. Then, use the systemctl command to view the status of the target.service. It should show that the target.service started correctly.
```
sudo -i
systemctl status target.service
```

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