2 <!DOCTYPE refentry PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.5//EN"
3 "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.2/docbookx.dtd">
4 <!-- SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1-or-later -->
6 <refentry id="systemd.slice">
8 <title>systemd.slice</title>
9 <productname>systemd</productname>
13 <refentrytitle>systemd.slice</refentrytitle>
14 <manvolnum>5</manvolnum>
18 <refname>systemd.slice</refname>
19 <refpurpose>Slice unit configuration</refpurpose>
23 <para><filename><replaceable>slice</replaceable>.slice</filename></para>
27 <title>Description</title>
29 <para>A unit configuration file whose name ends in <literal>.slice</literal> encodes information about a slice
30 unit. A slice unit is a concept for hierarchically managing resources of a group of processes. This management is
31 performed by creating a node in the Linux Control Group (cgroup) tree. Units that manage processes (primarily scope
32 and service units) may be assigned to a specific slice. For each slice, certain resource limits may be set that
33 apply to all processes of all units contained in that slice. Slices are organized hierarchically in a tree. The
34 name of the slice encodes the location in the tree. The name consists of a dash-separated series of names, which
35 describes the path to the slice from the root slice. The root slice is named <filename>-.slice</filename>. Example:
36 <filename>foo-bar.slice</filename> is a slice that is located within <filename>foo.slice</filename>, which in turn
37 is located in the root slice <filename>-.slice</filename>.
40 <para>Note that slice units cannot be templated, nor is possible to add multiple names to a slice unit by creating
41 additional symlinks to its unit file.</para>
43 <para>By default, service and scope units are placed in
44 <filename>system.slice</filename>, virtual machines and containers
46 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd-machined</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum></citerefentry>
47 are found in <filename>machine.slice</filename>, and user sessions
49 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd-logind</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum></citerefentry>
50 in <filename>user.slice</filename>. See
51 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.special</refentrytitle><manvolnum>7</manvolnum></citerefentry>
52 for more information.</para>
55 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.unit</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>
56 for the common options of all unit configuration
57 files. The common configuration items are configured
58 in the generic [Unit] and [Install] sections. The
59 slice specific configuration options are configured in
60 the [Slice] section. Currently, only generic resource control settings
62 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.resource-control</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry> are allowed.
66 url="https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/ControlGroupInterface">New
67 Control Group Interfaces</ulink> for an introduction on how to make
68 use of slice units from programs.</para>
72 <title>Automatic Dependencies</title>
75 <title>Implicit Dependencies</title>
77 <para>The following dependencies are implicitly added:</para>
80 <listitem><para>Slice units automatically gain dependencies of type
81 <varname>After=</varname> and <varname>Requires=</varname> on
82 their immediate parent slice unit.</para></listitem>
87 <title>Default Dependencies</title>
89 <para>The following dependencies are added unless <varname>DefaultDependencies=no</varname> is set:</para>
92 <listitem><para>Slice units will automatically have dependencies of type <varname>Conflicts=</varname> and
93 <varname>Before=</varname> on
94 <filename>shutdown.target</filename>. These ensure that slice units are removed prior to system shutdown.
95 Only slice units involved with late system shutdown should disable
96 <varname>DefaultDependencies=</varname> option.</para></listitem>
102 <title>Options</title>
104 <para>Slice unit files may include [Unit] and [Install] sections, which are described in
105 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.unit</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>.
106 No options specific to this file type are supported.</para>
110 <title>See Also</title>
112 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
113 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.unit</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
114 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.resource-control</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
115 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.service</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
116 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.scope</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
117 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.special</refentrytitle><manvolnum>7</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
118 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.directives</refentrytitle><manvolnum>7</manvolnum></citerefentry>