route(ADMN)                   06 January 1993                    route(ADMN)


 Name

    route - manually manipulate the routing tables

 Syntax

    /etc/route [ -f ] [ -n ] [ command destination gateway [ metric ] ]

 Description

    route is a program used to manually manipulate the network routing
    tables. It is normally not needed, since the routing daemon, routed
    manages the system routing table and therefore handles this function.

    route accepts two commands:  add, to add a route; and delete, to delete a
    route.

    All commands have the following syntax:

       /etc/route command destination gateway [ metric ]

    where destination is a host or network for which the route is ``to'',
    gateway is the gateway to which packets should be addressed, and metric
    is an optional count indicating the number of hops to the destination.
    If no metric is specified, route assumes a value of 0.  Routes to a par-
    ticular host are distinguished from those to a network by interpreting
    the Internet address associated with destination.  If the destination has
    a ``local address part'' of INADDRANY, the route is assumed to be to a
    network; otherwise, it is presumed to be a route to a host.

    _________________________________________________________________________
       NOTE  If the route is to a destination connected via a gateway,
       metric should be greater than 0.  All symbolic names specified for
       a destination or gateway are looked up first in the host name data-
       base; see hosts(SFF).  If this lookup fails, the name is then
       looked for in the network name database; see networks(SFF).
    _________________________________________________________________________


    route uses a raw socket and the SIOCADDRT and SIOCDELRT ioctl's to do its
    work.  As such, only the super-user may modify the routing tables.

 Options


    -f   Flush the routing tables of all gateway entries.  If this is used in
         conjunction with one of the commands described above, the tables are
         flushed prior to the command's application.

    -n   Prevents attempts to print host and network names symbolically when
         reporting actions.

 Diagnostics


    add [ host | network ] name: gateway host flags hex-flags
                   The specified route is being added to the tables.  The
                   values printed are from the routing table entry supplied
                   in the ioctl call.

    delete host: gateway host flags hex-flags
                   As above, but when deleting an entry.

    host host done When the -f flag is specified, each routing table entry
                   deleted is indicated with a message of this form.

    not in table   A delete operation was attempted for an entry which wasn't
                   present in the tables.

    routing table overflow
                   An add operation was attempted, but the system was low on
                   resources and was unable to allocate memory to create the
                   new entry.


 See also

    routed(ADMN), intro(ADMP), intro(SFF), hosts(SFF), networks(SFF)