SELinux has three operation modes:
- Enforcement – this is probably what your box is in if you are having tons of problems with your services
- Permissive – switch the SELinux kernel into a mode where every operation is allowed. Operations that would be denied are allowed and a message is logged identifying that it would be denied. The mechanism that defines labels for files which are being created/changed is still active.
- Disabled – SELinux is completely switched off in the kernel. This allows all operations to be permitted, and also disables the process which decides what to label files & processes with.
Disabling SELinux could lead to problems if you want to re-enable it again later. When the system runs with file labelling disable it will create files with no label – which could cause problems if the system is booted into Enforcement mode. A full re-labelling of the file system will be necessary. Most of the time, setting your box to Permissive will resolve most of the problems.
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