I cheat, and have used SuSE Linux since version 6.1. I've tried other 
flavors and am sure I'm just lazy and stupid, but suse's "Yast" 
configuration tool has always done most of the complex work.

IIRC, the particular Yast tool is called /etc/sysconfig editor. If 
anybody else used suse I would do a little more research, but the ubuntu 
fans will have different ideas. Again, IIRC, MSWindows had a similar GUI 
tool "msconfig" that was useful, so it seems likely to be an operating 
system vendor specific tool.

Some daemons are now part of the desktop window manager. KDE4 has a 
daemon called "Apper" that seems a little dangerous. While the user is 
doing his thing, Apper is wandering internet software repositories ready 
to "update" your system. This feature both competes with and bypasses 
the deliberate suse Yast software tool. I'm sure the professional server 
maintainers on this board have the needed skills.

tclug at jfoo.org wrote:
> My question du jour: what daemon controlling system do you use?
>
> I've been using daemontools for years, but don't like the timestamps 
> or the way
> directories are part of the UI (for command invocation). It is also no 
> longer
> maintained, though one point of view is that it doesn't need to be 
> maintained.
>
> Any preferences? Or systems to be avoided? I'm looking at runit - a 
> daemontools
> replacement. But there's also systemd and a pile of others.
>
> John
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