protocols(4)                                            protocols(4)


       NAME
             protocols - protocol name data base

       SYNOPSIS
             /etc/protocols

       DESCRIPTION
             The protocols file contains information regarding the known
             protocols used in the DARPA Internet.

          Files
             /var/yp/domainname/protocols.byname     Corresponding NIS map
                                                     containing network
                                                     protocols known to
                                                     your network.  The
                                                     protocol name is the
                                                     key in the map.
             /var/yp/domainname/protocols.bynumber   Same as
                                                     protocols.byname,
                                                     except key is protocol
                                                     number instead of
                                                     protocol name.

       USAGE
             The protocols file is used to initialize commands and
             protocols with reserved values.

             For each protocol a single line should be present with the
             following information:
                   official-protocol-name protocol-number aliases

             Items are separated by any number of blanks and/or TAB
             characters.  A ``#'' indicates the beginning of a comment;
             characters appearing after the ``#'' are ignored.

             Protocol names may contain any printable character other than
             a field delimiter, NEWLINE, or comment character.

             When the Network Information Service (NIS) is in use, it
             references the NIS maps protocols.byname or protocols.bynumber
             on the NIS server instead of /etc/protocols.

          Examples
             The following is a sample data base:




                           Copyright 1994 Novell, Inc.               Page 1

      protocols(4)                                            protocols(4)


            #
            # Internet (IP) protocols
            #
            ip      0       IP      # internet protocol, pseudo protocol number
            icmp    1       ICMP    # internet control message protocol
            ggp     3       GGP     # gateway-gateway protocol
            tcp     6       TCP     # transmission control protocol
            pup     12      PUP     # PARC universal packet protocol
            udp     17      UDP     # user datagram protocol

      REFERENCES
            getprotoent(3N)

      NOTICES
            A name server should be used instead of a static file.  A
            binary indexed file format should be available for fast
            access.































                          Copyright 1994 Novell, Inc.               Page 2