Auto-start using systemd

This section describes how to auto-start MFT Server on a Linux system running systemd.

 

The first step is the creation of a unit file. Before proceeding, read the note below.

 

Note: If you installed MFT Server using the RPM package as the root user, you may see a file named server.service. The file is likely configured to run MFT Server under root. To prevent MFT Server from running under root, disable server.service by entering this command: sudo systemctl disable server.service. This file is not created if you installed MFT server using the zip installer or if you used the RPM installer running under a non-root user.

 

  • Create a systemd unit file and place it in the /etc/systemd/system directory.

 

Example: sudo vim /etc/systemd/system/mftserver.service

 

  • For the above example, the file name is mftserver.service. The base name is whatever you would like (using Linux naming rules), but the suffix must be service.

     

  • Copy the information below, and paste it into your newly created unit file.

[Unit]

 

Description=JSCAPE MFT Server

 

After=network.target

 

[Service]

 

Type=forking

 

User=jscapeuser

 

ExecStart=/opt/mft_server/server start

 

ExecStop=/opt/mft_server/server stop

 

[Install]

 

WantedBy=multi-user.target

  • See the following notes that describe changes you may need to make to the unit file contents.

     

    • Delete the "User=" line if you intend to run MFT Server under the root account (not recommended as a best practice).

       

    • Modify the two references to “/opt/mft_server” to point to your installation path if MFT Server is not installed in /opt/mft_server,

 

  • Test starting and stopping MFT Server using the unit file. The start and stop commands below reference a unit file named mftserver.service. Your base file name may be different.

     

    • Test the unit file to ensure MFT Server starts. Do this before enabling it for autostart on reboot. The command to execute is: sudo systemctl start mftserver

       

    • Test the unit file to ensure MFT Server stops. The command to execute is: sudo systemctl stop mftserver

       

  • Reload the systemd daemon, which in turn loads the new service file, by executing this command: sudo systemctl daemon-reload

     

  • Install the service unit so that MFT Server is auto-started upon a system reboot, by executing this command: sudo systemctl enable mftserver.service

     

  • Start MFT Server by executing this command: sudo systemctl start mftserver.service

     

  • Verify the service is running by executing this command: sudo systemctl status mftserver.service. You should see output that indicates the service is active and running.

     

     

If you encounter any issues, examine the systemd logs for error messages.

 

  • Enter this command: sudo journalctl -u mftserver.service

 

You can also check the JSCAPE MFT Server logs, located in the /opt/mft_server/logs directory, for more detailed information. As a reminder, opt/mft_server is the default MFT Server installation directory name.