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As long time SoylentNews community member Marand observed during some recent discussion of severe systemd boot problems, it turns out that systemd disables the magic SysRq key.
The magic SysReq key is described at Wikipedia as:
[...] a key combination understood by the Linux kernel, which allows the user to perform various low-level commands regardless of the system's state. It is often used to recover from freezes, or to reboot a computer without corrupting the filesystem.
A Fedora user who logged a bug report for this issue back in 2013 described the problem with systemd's unexpected and harmful default setting:
As systemd depends on many files on a rootfs, in case of any problems with rootfs, it is not able to do its basic function - control processes and (cleanly) shutdown/reboot when crtl-alt-del is pressed on local keyboard. As this is a feature, I'd like to ask to enable the sysrq by default on Fedora, otherwise it is not possible to reboot system even locally in case of emergency situation.
While that Fedora bug report is set to CLOSED NOTABUG, other Linux distros, like Mageia and Debian GNU/Linux, have restored the proper behavior.
Now that this problem has come to light, all Fedora users should evaluate whether or not they need to fix their systems to work around systemd's incorrect default setting. Users of other Linux distributions using systemd should also evaluate their systems, too, in case their distro has not yet fixed this unexpected bug.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by RedBear on Monday December 22 2014, @10:43AM
Posting a list of alternate Linux distros that just happen to still be systemd-free right at this exact moment is completely missing the point. Besides the fact that a lot of these minor Linux distributions are made for narrow, specialized purposes, they are often based on a snapshot of a larger, more established distribution like Debian. They share "DNA" with one or more parent distributions, so to speak. As many have said, systemd is spreading out and rapidly infecting things exactly like a cancer. The next time any of those minor distros feel like taking a new snapshot of their base distro, they will become infected with systemd as well. And this is even before taking into account the inevitable encroachment of developers who have bought into systemd as being a good idea, who will soon start to only maintain the systemd-requiring versions of their software, thus forcing many minor "from-scratch" Linux distros to eventually contemplate adding systemd just to maintain some relevance in the overall Linux scene.
No, there is good reason why so many people are talking about completely walking away from Linux as a platform, because unlike other platforms like BSD, the Linux platform has failed to reject the very idea of what systemd is doing to the platform. Eventually I believe it will take monumental effort to avoid systemd anywhere in the Linux world, and people just don't feel like wasting that kind of time when they can just jump over to a BSD or even Windows and end up getting more productive work done. It is my considered opinion at this point that systemd is eventually going to end up basically being the death knell of Linux as a popular desktop/server platform. It may not become blindingly obvious until several years from now, but I believe that we will all look back and collectively agree that the advent of systemd was the inflection point in Linux's popularity. Unless of course Linux can somehow reverse course and divest itself of systemd completely and be reborn, but I don't foresee that happening. That's the only possible thing that will bring back any of the folks who are "jumping ship" right now to other platforms. But it would require a very deep and fundamental reevaluation of the core principles of the entire Linux platform.
¯\_ʕ◔.◔ʔ_/¯ LOL. I dunno. I'm just a bear.
... Peace out. Got bear stuff to do. 彡ʕ⌐■.■ʔ
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 22 2014, @01:51PM
This AC is one datum in exactly the scenario you described. I'm a happy Mint user, but its increasingly looking like I'll be better off going back to Win7, or relearning BSD once systemd becomes integrated into Mint to the point where I can't avoid it.
(Score: 2) by novak on Monday December 22 2014, @05:12PM
they are often based on a snapshot of a larger, more established distribution like Debian.
If you read my post you'll see that I explicitly did not post any distros based on Debian or any other systemd-ified linux. These are all either independent or based on one not yet using systemd.
Besides the fact that a lot of these minor Linux distributions are made for narrow, specialized purposes
Many are, but you may have missed popular distros like PCLinuxOS, or quality slackware based distros like Salix and Zenwalk.
systemd is spreading out and rapidly infecting things exactly like a cancer.
Yep, there aren't a whole lot of usable distros left, unfortunately. Hence, this list. I won't be leaving linux just yet, though I will be migrating more systems to BSD. Linux is very hackable. It may be difficult to avoid systemd in the future, but I think there's enough hatred for it that people are going to have good distros for a very long time.
novak
(Score: 2) by RedBear on Monday December 22 2014, @08:13PM
I was replying to the implication I read into your post that systemd will not really be a problem. I see that you did not really mean to imply that, and we are essentially in full agreement about systemd being an issue that will be increasingly problematic going into the future. However I believe you still underestimate the peripheral poisoning effect of systemd-requiring third-party software, and how quickly it will help to spread the infection even to distros that are built from scratch and fully intend (at the moment) to remain systemd-free. Eventually, most of them will have to cave.
In order to survive, the Linux platform and community will be forced to split into two branches. One branch will embrace systemd, the other will reject it and anything resembling it (i.e., monolithic, sprawling, un-UNIX-like software). The only real question is which branch will continue calling itself "Linux".
¯\_ʕ◔.◔ʔ_/¯ LOL. I dunno. I'm just a bear.
... Peace out. Got bear stuff to do. 彡ʕ⌐■.■ʔ
(Score: 2) by novak on Tuesday December 23 2014, @10:20AM
Yeah, I didn't mean to say that systemd isn't a problem, so much as help people avoid it. I have a whole lot invested in linux and if it's going to split into minimalist and systemd factions, I'll do my best to help those on the minimal side. I will probably start using BSD entirely for servers, but for embedded, desktop, and HPC I get a lot of mileage out of linux. I'm not going to be forced out by anyone, and especially not some redhat jokers.
Systemd's infection is indeed deep, and if just a couple more distros go then nearly all will require systemd, or be derived from one that does (What's even left that people know? Maybe puppy, PCLinuxOS, and slackware?). The vast majority are already gone, and though I do hope that some deriving from debian try to stand up against it, I have no doubt that will prove increasingly difficult.
novak
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 23 2014, @02:33AM
Please, please, please... if you don't like the choices that software makes, don't campaign against the existence of things you didn't choose. Don't threaten to walk, just walk. The grass is greener, and you'll be happier. You can have the software you want, you just have to stop worrying that systemd exists in the world, and choose the OS you want to run. Go, be Free. I will stay, and remain Free, and remain pleased at the progress that is systemd.