[K12OSN] is it safe to turn off GDM binary?

[Eric Harrison]

On Mon, 12 Jun 2006, john  wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I am running FC 4 as a webserver, and don't need gdm to be running for day
> to day use ( I might need to start it if I log on at the console).
> Is it safe to turn off GDM-Binary. Google tells me that GDM binary is a
> "wrapper" for a variety of GDM functions. I assume that it can safely be
> shut off, but I wanted to check with the experts first.
>
> Thanks!
>
> John

If you are running a web server that typically does not need to be accessed
via a GUI directly on the desktop (or via XDM or VNC), then it makes sense
to run in text-only mode. To do that, you can change from runlevel 5 (GUI)
to runlevel 3 (text) by editing /etc/inittab and changing:

 	id:5:initdefault:

to

 	id:3:initdefault:


You can run "telinit q" from the command line or reboot for the change
to take effect.

Afterwards, if you do find that you need to a GUI from the console you
can log in and type "startx" to startup the GUI.

If you find that you really do want the GUI login, then just reverse
the process. Change the default runlevel back to 5 and run "telinit q".

-Eric