netconfig.4 (2010 09)

n
netconfig(4) netconfig(4)
NAME
netconfig - network configuration database
SYNOPSIS
/etc/netconfig
DESCRIPTION
The network configuration database, /etc/netconfig
, is a system file used to store information about
networks that are connected to the system. The
netconfig database and the routines that access it
(see getnetconfig(3N)) are part of the Network Selection component. The Network Selection component
also includes
getnetpath() routines to provide application-specific network search paths. These rou-
tines access the netconfig database based on the environment variable NETPATH (see environ (5)).
netconfig contains an entry for each network available on the system. Entries are separated by new-
lines. Fields are separated by whitespace and occur in the order in which they are described below. Whi-
tespace can be embedded as blank or tab . Lines in
/etc/netconfig
that begin with a # (hash) in
column 1 are treated as comments.
Each of the valid lines in the
netconfig database correspond to an available transport. Each entry is
of the form:
network_ID semantics_flag protocol_family protocol_name network_device translation_libraries
network_ID A string used to uniquely identify a network. network_ID consists of non-null characters,
and has a length of at least 1. No maximum length is specified. This namespace is locally
significant and the local system administrator is the naming authority. All network_ID’s on
a system must be unique.
semantics The semantics field is a string identifying the ‘‘semantics’’ of the network, that is, the set of
services it supports, by identifying the service interface it provides. The semantics field is
mandatory. The following semantics are recognized.
tpi_clts Transport Provider Interface, connectionless
tpi_cots_ord
Transport Provider Interface, connection oriented, supports orderly
release.
flag The flag field records certain two-valued (‘‘true’’ and ‘‘false’’) attributes of networks. flag is a
string composed of a combination of characters, each of which indicates the value of the
corresponding attribute. If the character is present, the attribute is ‘‘true.’’ If the character
is absent, the attribute is ‘‘false.’’ ‘‘-’’ indicates that none of the attributes are present. Only
one character is currently recognized:
v Visible (‘‘default’’) network. Used when the environment variable NET-
PATH is unset.
protocol_family
The protocol_family and protocol_name fields are provided for protocol-specific applications.
The protocol_family field contains a string that identifies a protocol family. The
protocol_family identifier follows the same rules as those for network_ID s; the string con-
sists of non-null characters, it has a length of at least 1, and there is no maximum length
specified. A - in the protocol_family field indicates that no protocol family identifier applies
(the network is experimental). An example protocol family:
inet Internetwork: UDP, TCP, etc.
protocol_name
The protocol_name field contains a string that identifies a protocol. The protocol_name
identifier follows the same rules as those for network_ID s; that is, the string consists of non-
NULL characters, it has a length of at least 1, and there is no maximum length specified. A
‘‘-’’ indicates that none of the names listed apply. The following protocol names are recog-
nized.
tcp Transmission Control Protocol
udp User Datagram Protocol
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