PLD system can be run in several runlevels:
| Runlevel 1 | Single user mode. Used by administrator for rescue/emergency/system maintenance reasons. |
| Runlevel 2 | Multiuser level, but without Network File System |
| Runlevel 3 | Normal multiuser level. This is most commonly used runlevel. |
| Runlevel 5 | Normal multiuser level with X Window environment started by default. This is popular choice for workstations. |
| Single | Single user mode - used in emergency situations. It runs less services than runlevel 1. |
System boots up in default runlevel that is defined in /etc/inittab which is usually 3 or 5. Current runlevel can be changed with telinit command. For example, if system is running level 3, issuing telinit 2 brings it to level 2 (as a consequence, NFS subsystems will be stopped).