networks(4)

DESCRIPTION

The /etc/networks file associates Internet (IP) addresses with official network names and aliases. This allows the user to refer to a network by a symbolic name instead of using an Internet address. For each network, a single line should be present with the following information:

Aliases are other names under which a network is known. For example:

where the network named loop is also called testlan.

A line cannot start with a blank (tab or space character). Items are separated by any number or combination of blanks. A # character indicates the beginning of a comment. Characters from the # up to the end of the line are not interpreted by routines which search the file. Trailing blanks are allowed at the end of a line. For the Internet, this file is normally created from the official network database 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 networks.

Network numbers can be specified in conventional Internet dot notation using the inet_network() routine from the internet address manipulation library (see inet(3N). Network names can contain any printable character other than a white space, new-line, or comment character.

EXAMPLES

See /etc/networks.

AUTHOR

networks was developed by the University of California, Berkeley.

FILES

/etc/networks

SEE ALSO

getnetent(3N).