> Because it's a nice way to apply configuration changes made to > /etc/sysctl.conf without restarting the whole server?
Systemctl doesn't offer hot reload unless the controlled daemon offers the capability in the first place. The only thing systemd does is hits the controlling process on the head with a known conf-reload signal or (gasp) a DBus control statement. Both of these can be done just as well with an rc script, and without restarting the service.
