ETHERS(4)ETHERS(4)NAMEethers - Ethernet address to hostname database or domain
DESCRIPTION
The ethers file is a local source of information about the (48-bit)
Ethernet addresses of hosts on the Internet. The ethers file can be
used in conjunction with or instead of other ethers sources, including
the NIS maps ethers.byname and ethers.byaddr, the NIS+ table ethers, or
Ethernet address data stored on an LDAP server. Programs use the
ethers(3SOCKET) routines to access this information.
The ethers file has one line for each host on an Ethernet. The line has
the following format:
Ethernet-address official-host-name
Items are separated by any number of SPACE and/or TAB characters. A `#'
indicates the beginning of a comment extending to the end of line.
The standard form for Ethernet addresses is "x:x:x:x:x:x" where x is a
hexadecimal number between 0 and ff, representing one byte. The
address bytes are always in network order. Host names may contain any
printable character other than SPACE, TAB, NEWLINE, or comment characā
ter.
FILES
/etc/ethers
SEE ALSOethers(3SOCKET), hosts(4), nsswitch.conf(4)
Jul 22, 2004 ETHERS(4)