Index Index for
Section 4
Index Alphabetical
listing for H
Bottom of page Bottom of
page

hosts(4)

NAME

hosts - The host name data base

SYNOPSIS

/etc/hosts

DESCRIPTION

The hosts file contains information regarding the known hosts on the network. For each host a single line should be present with the following information: IP_address canonical_hostname aliases Items are separated by any number of blanks and/or tab characters. The # (number sign) indicates the beginning of a comment; characters up to the end of the line are not interpreted by routines which search the file. The following is an example of an /etc/hosts file: 127.0.0.1 localhost 192.168.201.38 esterbrook.stylos.plume.net esterbrook este es 192.168.201.3 wirt.stylos.plume.net wirt # DNS server 192.168.201.6 eclipse.stylos.plume.net eclipse # DNS server 192.168.112.155 carter.stylos.plume.net carter # NIS server 192.168.112.163 chilton.stylos.plume.net chilton # NIS server The first two or more entries include the default 127.0.0.1 loopback interface and any local network interfaces that the ifconfig command needs when you boot your system. In this case, there is one (primary) network interface on the local system. It is called esterbrook, but because it has such a long name, users on the local system can refer to it by the aliases este or es for convenience. The remaining entries are for other hosts in your network. If you are not running a naming service, such as BIND, you need to add an entry for any system to which you will refer by a host name. If you are running a naming service, you need only add entries for the most critical systems with which you will communicate. In the event that the naming service fails, the hosts file will serve as a backup. This file may be created from the official host data base maintained at the Network Information Control Center (NIC), though local changes may be required to bring it up to date regarding unofficial aliases and/or unknown hosts. As the data base maintained at NIC is incomplete, use of the name server is recommend for sites on the DARPA Internet. Network addresses are specified in the conventional . notation using the inet_addr() routine from the Internet address manipulation library, inet_addr(3). Host names may contain any printable character other than a field delimiter, newline, or comment character.

SEE ALSO

Commands: ifconfig(8), named(8) Functions: gethostbyname(3)

Index Index for
Section 4
Index Alphabetical
listing for H
Top of page Top of
page