Process Triage: Stop the Runaway, Reload the Daemon
MediumLinux+ Exam Prep15-25 minA service on this box is misbehaving, and two processes need attention — the skill is choosing the right signal for each.
(1) A runaway worker named flux-worker-* is holding memory and spinning. Find it, record its PID to /root/answers/worker.pid, and stop it.
(2) A logging daemon named reqlog-* needs to re-read its config. Reload it in place with `SIGHUP` — do not kill it. Killing it drops logging; a config change is a reload. Success leaves a marker at /run/reqlog.reloaded and the daemon still running.
ps, top, pgrep/pkill, and kill are all you need. See /root/brief.txt. Tip: kill -l lists the signals and man 7 signal explains them — SIGTERM (15) is the polite stop, SIGKILL (9) forces it, SIGHUP (1) means reload.
- Find a specific process by name with ps/pgrep and record its PID
- Stop a runaway process with a signal (SIGTERM/SIGKILL)
- Reload a daemon in place with SIGHUP instead of killing it
Hands-on lab: you work on a real Linux box in your browser, graded on the machine's actual state.