netconfig(4) netconfig(4)
NAME
netconfig - network configuration database
SYNOPSIS
#include <netconfig.h>
DESCRIPTION
The network configuration database, /etc/netconfig, is a system file
used to store information about networks connected to the system and
available for use. The netconfig database and the routines that access
it [see getnetconfig(3N)] are part of the Reliant UNIX Network Selec-
tion component. The Network Selection component also includes the
environment variable NETPATH and a group of routines that access the
netconfig database using NETPATH components as links to the netconfig
entries. NETPATH is described in environ(5); the NETPATH access rou-
tines are discussed in getnetpath(3N).
netconfig contains an entry for each network available on the system.
Entries are separated by newlines. Fields are separated by whitespace
and occur in the order in which they are described below. Whitespace
can be embedded as "\blank" or "\tab". Backslashes may be embedded as
"\\". Each field corresponds to an element in the struct netconfig
structure. struct netconfig and the identifiers described on this
manual page are defined in /usr/include/netconfig.h.
network ID A string used to uniquely identify a network. network
ID consists of non-null characters, and has a length of
at least 1. No maximum length is specified. This
namespace is locally significant and the local system
administrator is the naming authority. All network IDs
on a system must be unique.
semantics The semantics field is a string identifying the "seman-
tics" of the network, i.e., the set of services it sup-
ports, by identifying the service interface it pro-
vides. The semantics field is mandatory. The following
semantics are recognized.
tpiclts Transport Provider Interface, connec-
tionless
tpicots Transport Provider Interface, connection
oriented
tpicotsord Transport Provider Interface, connection
oriented, supports orderly release.
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netconfig(4) netconfig(4)
flag The flag field records certain two-valued ("true" and
"false") attributes of networks. flag is a string com-
posed of a combination of characters, each of which
indicates the value of the corresponding attribute. If
the character is present, the attribute is "true". If
the character is absent, the attribute is "false". "-"
indicates that none of the attributes is present. Only
two characters are currently recognized:
v Visible ("default") network. Used when the envi-
ronment variable NETPATH is unset.
b Network allows RPC broadcast.
protocol family
Name of the transport protocol family, e.g. inet or
osinet.
protocol name The protocol name field contains a string that identi-
fies a protocol. The protocol name identifier follows
the same rules as those for network IDs, that is, the
string consists of non-NULL characters; it has a length
of at least 1; and there is no maximum length speci-
fied. The following protocol names are recognized. A
"-" indicates that none of the names listed applies.
tcp Transmission Control Protocol
udp User Datagram Protocol
icmp Internet Control Message Protocol
network device The network device is the full pathname of the device
used to connect to the transport provider. Typically,
this device will be in the /dev directory. The network
device must be specified.
directory lookup libraries
The directory lookup libraries support a "directory
service" (a name-to-address mapping service) for the
network. This service is implemented by the Reliant
UNIX Name-to-Address Mapping feature. If a network is
not provided with such a library, the netdir feature
will not work. A "-" in this field indicates the
absence of any lookup libraries, in which case name-
to-address mapping for the network is non-functional.
The directory lookup library field consists of a
comma-separated list of full pathnames to dynamically
linked libraries. Commas may be embedded as "\,";
backslashs as "\\".
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netconfig(4) netconfig(4)
Lines in /etc/netconfig that begin with a sharp sign (#) in column 1
are treated as comments.
The struct netconfig structure includes the following members corre-
sponding to the fields in the netconfig database entries:
char * ncnetid Network ID, including NULL terminator
unsigned long ncsemantics Semantics
unsigned long ncflag Flags
char * ncprotofmly Protocol family
char * ncproto Protocol name
char * ncdevice Full pathname of the network device
unsigned long ncnlookups Number of directory lookup libraries
char ** nclookups Full pathnames of the directory lookup
libraries themselves
unsigned long ncunused[8] Reserved for future expansion (not adver-
tised to user level)
The ncsemantics field takes the following values, corresponding to
the semantics identified above:
NCTPICLTS
NCTPICOTS
NCTPICOTSORD
The ncflag field is a bitfield. The following bit, corresponding to
the attribute identified above, is currently recognized. NCNOFLAG
indicates the absence of any attributes.
NCVISIBLE
FILES
/etc/netconfig
/usr/include/netconfig.h
SEE ALSO
netdirgetbyname(3N), getnetconfig(3N), getnetpath(3N), environ(5).
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