portmap(8nfs)
NAME
portmap − DARPA internet port to RPC program number mapper
SYNTAX
/usr/etc/portmap
DESCRIPTION
The portmap command is a server that converts RPC program numbers into DARPA protocol port numbers. When an RPC server is started, it will tell portmap what TCP or UDP port number it is listening on, and what RPC program numbers it is prepared to serve.
It is important to understand that portmap must first be invoked before attempting to run any RPC service. It must be running in order to use any RPC-based applications, including the NFS mount daemon, mountd(.). When a client wishes to make an RPC call to a given program number, the RPC program will first contact portmap on the server machine to determine the port number where the RPC packets should be sent.
If portmap crashes, all servers must be restarted.