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Command: hosts | Section: 4 | Source: Digital UNIX | File: hosts.4.gz
hosts(4) Kernel Interfaces Manual 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 fol-
lowing 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.
When using the name server named(8), this file provides a backup when
the name server is not running. For the name server, it is suggested
that only a few addresses be included in this file. These include ad-
dress for the local interfaces that ifconfig(8) needs at boot time and
a few machines on the local network.
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.
RELATED INFORMATION
Commands: ifconfig(8), named(8)
Functions: gethostbyname(3) delim off
hosts(4)