my @command = qw(
    /mevs/$version/bin/mevs
    /mevs/$version/data/config_data/mevs2.cfg
    online
);

$SIG{CHLD} = 'IGNORE';
defined(my $pid = fork)
    or die "Can't fork ($!)";

if ( $pid )
{
    # child
    exec @command or die "Can't exec ($!)";
}

# parent continues...
print "new pid: [$pid]\n"; # print pid