Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Dinit VS systemd

Compare Dinit VS systemd and see what are their differences

Dinit logo Dinit

Dinit is a service supervisor with dependency support which can also act as the system "init" program.

systemd logo systemd

systemd is a replacement for the init daemon for Linux (either System V or BSD-style).
  • Dinit Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-06
  • systemd Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-03-24

Dinit features and specs

  • Lightweight
    Dinit is designed to be a lightweight system service manager, which means it consumes fewer resources compared to more comprehensive init systems. This makes it suitable for systems where resource usage is a critical concern.
  • Simple Configuration
    Dinit offers a relatively straightforward configuration, making it easier for users to set up and manage services compared to other complex init systems.
  • Fast Startup
    Due to its minimalist design, Dinit can provide quicker system startup times, which is beneficial in environments where boot speed is important.
  • Parallel Service Starting
    Dinit supports parallel starting of services, which can improve system boot times by allowing multiple services to be started simultaneously.
  • Dependency Management
    Dinit has built-in support for specifying dependencies between services, ensuring that services are started in the correct order.

Possible disadvantages of Dinit

  • Limited Features
    As a lightweight init system, Dinit may lack some of the advanced features found in more full-featured systems like systemd, such as extensive logging and sophisticated networking service management.
  • Smaller Community
    Dinit has a smaller user and developer community compared to widely adopted init systems, which can result in fewer resources, tutorials, and community support.
  • Less Mature
    Being a newer system, Dinit may not have gone through as extensive testing and usage in production environments as older init systems, potentially leading to undiscovered bugs or edge cases.
  • Compatibility
    Dinit might not be compatible with some existing scripts and services designed for more established init systems, requiring additional effort to migrate or maintain compatibility.
  • Limited Distribution Support
    Dinit may not be officially supported by many Linux distributions out of the box, requiring manual installation and configuration.

systemd features and specs

  • Fast Boot Times
    systemd can significantly reduce boot times compared to traditional init systems due to its parallelization capabilities, dependency-based booting, and services starting only when needed.
  • Unified Management
    It provides a unified framework for service management across various Linux distributions, simplifying the administration tasks as most commands and configurations remain consistent.
  • Socket Activation
    Services can be started on-demand using socket activation, which can save resources by only starting services when actually needed.
  • Logging and Monitoring
    systemd integrates with journald for logging, providing a centralized and structured logging mechanism that makes it easier to track system events and diagnose problems.
  • Service Dependency Management
    By managing service dependencies, systemd ensures that services start in the correct order and can restart services that fail or get stopped unexpectedly.

Possible disadvantages of systemd

  • Complexity
    systemd is more complex than traditional init systems, which can make it more challenging to learn and troubleshoot, especially for newcomers or those accustomed to simpler systems.
  • Monolithic Design
    Critics argue that systemd attempts to do too much, integrating multiple components and functionalities under one umbrella, which goes against the UNIX philosophy of 'doing one thing and doing it well.'
  • Compatibility Issues
    Older scripts and software that rely on traditional init systems might face compatibility issues or require modifications to work with systemd.
  • Performance Overhead
    Although generally optimized for performance, the additional features and logging can lead to performance overhead compared to simpler init systems.
  • Community Division
    The adoption of systemd has been controversial, leading to divisions in some open-source communities, with some users and developers preferring alternatives like OpenRC or runit.

Dinit videos

SystemD Runit Dinit OpenRC Boot Time #Void #Arch #Artix #Alpine #Linux

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to start services using dinit.

systemd videos

Demystifying systemd

More videos:

  • Review - Archbang (systemd) Install & Review
  • Review - Review Devuan Linux - Un Debian Sin Systemd

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Dinit and systemd)
Monitoring Tools
33 33%
67% 67
Log Management
32 32%
68% 68
Fintech
34 34%
66% 66
Performance Monitoring
27 27%
73% 73

User comments

Share your experience with using Dinit and systemd. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Dinit seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 10 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Dinit mentions (10)

  • are there any good reasons for me to avoid systemd
    Still, I applaud efforts like s6 and Dinit as competition is a good thing in general. I hope they'll continue to be improved upon until they've become viable alternatives to systemd for most users. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Gentoo 66 init or dinit
    You can download dinit from github https://github.com/davmac314/dinit. (also read everything about it) Do a simple make && make install which should install it to /sbin/dinit No need to remove systemd or openrc. /sbin/init should be symlinked to whatever init system you use. Read the instructions on dinits page. All the services go into /etc/dinit.d. And you can "dinitctl enable servicename" to enable it. I... Source: about 2 years ago
  • A discussion about the Ultimate Linux Desktop
    It got mass-adopted while being imperfect, so that's to be expected. Thankfully its inception and the criticism that followed have paved the way for the likes of dinit and s6. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Run a script when connection is established and ready?
    I use dinit do manage services on my home server. One of them is Caddy, that shares TLS/SSL cert state with my remote server by using Redis on said remote server. However, since this means that I need to have established a remote connection first before starting Caddy, I would like to know of a method to check if tailscale has in fact finished connecting. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Fastest way to boot Void Linux?
    I've used a ton of improvements but I know this community knows a lot more about some parts than me. So here I come. I'm currently using efibootmgr to create an efistub to bypass grub. Using base-minimal with ncurses so terminal apps work. Also I use this in my /etc/dracut.conf.d/local.conf: Hostonly="yes" Omit_dracutmodules=" network plymouth " And that works perfectly. Don't know exactly what network or... Source: about 2 years ago
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systemd mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of systemd yet. Tracking of systemd recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Dinit and systemd, you can also consider the following products

s6 - s6 is a small suite of programs for UNIX, designed for process supervision. It can be used as an init system, or as separate supervision components.

runit - runit is a cross-platform Unix init scheme with service supervision, a replacement for sysvinit...

Supervisor - Supervisor is a client/server system that allows its users to monitor and control a number of...

sysvinit - Savannah is a central point for development, distribution and maintenance of free software, both GNU and non-GNU.

Upstart - Upstart is an event-based replacement for the /sbin/init daemon which handles starting of tasks and...

M/Monit - Monit is a free open source utility for managing and monitoring, processes, files, directories and filesystems on a UNIX system. Monit conducts automatic maintenance and repair and can execute meaningful causal actions in error situations.