Make it clearer how nodes are started, stopped and restarted

in CLI, Debian, RPM, generic UNIX guides

References #1573

Author: michaelklishin

site/cli.md

@@ -528,6 +528,62 @@ and so on.
 [RabbitMQ Networking guide](networking.html) contains a section on troubleshooting of networking-related issues.
 
 
+## <a id="managing-nodes" class="anchor" href="#managing-nodes">Managing Nodes</a>
+
+### Getting node status
+
+To retrieve node status, use `rabbitmq-diagnostics status` or `rabbitmq-diagnostics.bat status`
+with an optional `--node` target:
+
+<pre class="lang-bash">
+rabbitmqctl shutdown
+</pre>
+
+<pre class="lang-bash">
+rabbitmqctl shutdown --node [email protected]
+</pre>
+
+<pre class="lang-powershell">
+rabbitmqctl.bat shutdown
+</pre>
+
+<pre class="lang-powershell">
+rabbitmqctl.bat shutdown --node [email protected]
+</pre>
+
+### Starting a node
+
+How RabbitMQ nodes are started depends on the package type used:
+
+ * When using Debian and RPM packages on modern Linux distributions, nodes are [managed using `systemd`](./install-debian.html#managing-service)
+ * When using Windows installer, nodes are usually [managed by the Windows service manager](./install-windows.html#managing)
+ * When using Homebrew formula, nodes are managed using `brew services`
+ * When using generic UNIX build or binary Windows build, nodes are started using `sbin/rabbitmq-server` and `sbin/rabbitmq-server.bat`, respectively, in the installation root
+
+### Stopping a node
+
+To stop a node, consider using the same service management tooling used when starting
+the node, which depends on the package typed used when RabbitMQ was installed.
+
+To stop a node using RabbitMQ CLI tools, use
+`rabbitmqctl shutdown` or `rabbitmqctl.bat shutdown` with an optional `--node` target:
+
+<pre class="lang-bash">
+rabbitmqctl shutdown
+</pre>
+
+<pre class="lang-bash">
+rabbitmqctl shutdown --node [email protected]
+</pre>
+
+<pre class="lang-powershell">
+rabbitmqctl.bat shutdown
+</pre>
+
+<pre class="lang-powershell">
+rabbitmqctl.bat shutdown --node [email protected]
+</pre>
+
 ## <a id="http-api-cli" class="anchor" href="#http-api-cli">rabbitmqadmin</a>
 
 [rabbitmqadmin](./management-cli.html) is a command line tool that's built on top of [RabbitMQ HTTP API](./management.html).

site/install-debian.md

@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ Key sections of this guide are
  * [Privilege requirements](#sudo-requirements)
  * Quick start installation snippet that [uses Cloudsmith](#apt-quick-start-cloudsmith) repositories
  * Quick start installation snippets that [uses PackageCloud](#apt-quick-start-packagecloud) and Launchpad repositories
+ * [Manage the service](#managing-service) (start it, stop it, and get its status)
+ * How to [inspect node and service logs](#server-logs)
 
 [Supported Erlang versions](which-erlang.html) will be provisioned from one of the [modern Erlang apt repositories](#erlang-repositories)
 on [Ubuntu Launchpad](https://launchpad.net/~rabbitmq/+archive/ubuntu/rabbitmq-erlang) or [Cloudsmith.io](https://cloudsmith.io/~rabbitmq/repos/rabbitmq-erlang/packages/).
@@ -45,11 +47,6 @@ should refer to
 * Manual installation using [apt and the Cloudsmith](#apt-cloudsmith) repository
 * Manual installation using [apt the PackageCloud](#apt-packagecloud) and Launchpad repositories
 
-Service management is covered in
-
- * [Manage the service](#managing-service)
- * How to [inspect node and service logs](#server-logs)
-
 More advanced topics include
 
  * [Version Pinning](#apt-pinning) of apt packages

site/install-generic-unix.md

@@ -24,9 +24,13 @@ It is minimalistic and not opinionated in how it is installed, configured and ma
 This package is recommended in environments where more opinionated installation options
 (the [Debian](./install-debian.html) or [RPM packages](./install-rpm.html), [Homebrew](./install-homebrew.html), BSD ports) cannot be used.
 It is also the most convenient option for running multiple versions on the same machine
-in development environments, e.g. [preview release](./snapshots.html) testing.
+in development environments.
+
 There's a separate [binary package for Windows](./install-windows-manual.html).
 
+Unlike with the cases of [Debian](./install-debian.html), [RPM](./install-rpm.html) and [Windows installer](./install-windows.html) packages,
+[node management](#running-generic-unix) with this package type is performed solely using
+[RabbitMQ CLI tools](./cli.html) or by the operator setting up e.g. a `systemd` service manually.
 
 ## <a id="downloads" class="anchor" href="#downloads">Downloads</a>
 

site/install-rpm.md

@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ such as Fedora, RHEL and CentOS. It covers a number of topics:
  * [Package dependencies](#package-dependencies)
  * [Supported distributions](#supported-distributions)
  * [Privilege requirements](#sudo-requirements)
- * How to [manage the service](#managing-service)
+ * How to [manage the service](#managing-service) (start it, stop it, and get its status)
  * How to [inspect node and service logs](#server-logs)
  * Installation on [older distributions](#yum-legacy)
  * [Package downloads](#downloads)