ETHERS(5) File Formats and Configurations ETHERS(5)
NAME
ethers - 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, 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 character.
FILES
/etc/ethersSEE ALSO
ethers(3SOCKET),
hosts(5),
nsswitch.conf(5) February 25, 2017
ETHERS(5)