The dcelocal/var/dfs/BosConfig file on the local disk of each DFS server machine contains information about the processes the BOS Server is to monitor. This information includes the process type, the command parameters associated with the process, and a status flag that tells the BOS Server to start the process at initialization or restart the process if the process fails. Whenever the BOS Server starts or restarts, it reads the file to learn which processes to monitor; this information is transferred into memory and the file is not read again until the BOS Server next restarts.
The administrator can change the process status in the BOS Server's memory with specific bos commands; therefore, it is possible for a process to stop running even if its status flag in the BosConfig file is set to Run. Similarly, an administrator can start a process without setting its status flag in the BosConfig file to Run by changing its memory state flag to Run.
Never edit the BosConfig file directly; always use the appropriate bos commands. Editing the file directly can introduce changes of which the BOS Server is unaware. The BOS Server does not recognize such changes until it is restarted and again reads the file.