fingerd(1M)                                           fingerd(1M)



NAME
     fingerd, in.fingerd - handles requests from  remote  systems
     for user information from finger

SYNOPSIS
     in.fingerd

DESCRIPTION
     in.fingerd is run by inetd to handle requests from a finger
     command on a remote system for status information about
     users on the local system. Once in.fingerd handles the
     request, it terminates.

     When a user on a remote system runs finger to get
     information about the users on the local system, finger
     sends a request to the local system.  On the local system,
     the Internet daemon, inetd, receives the request, invokes
     in.fingerd, and establishes a communications connection
     between finger on the remote system and in.fingerd on the
     local system.

     The finger command on the remote system writes a single
     command.  The finger command is terminated by the RETURN
     key, and the line feed is read by in.fingerd.  If the
     command is null, in.fingerd interprets the command as a
     request for information about all users on the local system.
     If the command is not null, in.fingerd interprets any
     arguments as the name of a user.  In either case, in.fingerd
     runs finger on the local system and passes the output to
     finger on the remote system. When the output ends,
     in.fingerd closes the connection to the remote system.

LIMITATIONS
     When handling requests for information from remote systems,
     finger does not pass any command options to in.fingerd.  By
     design, in.fingerd cannot receive finger options. Attempts
     to send finger options to in.fingerd from a TIP or a
     TELNET-protocol user program can result in meaningless
     option negotiations, which hamper the ability of in.fingerd
     to interpret the command line.  The in.fingerd command
     should be enhanced to filter out unexpected command options
     and perhaps should respond negatively to all commands that
     contain an option.

FILES
     /etc/servers
          Database of servers, of which in.fingerd is one
     /etc/services
          Database file of available services, of which finger is
          one
     /usr/etc/in.fingerd
          Executable file



January 1992                                                    1

fingerd(1M)                                           fingerd(1M)



SEE ALSO
     finger(1), inetd(1M)

     RFC 742 (DNN Network Information Center, SRI International)



















































2                                                    January 1992