ethers(4)						     Kernel Interfaces Manual							 ethers(4)

NAME

       ethers - Database that maps Ethernet addresses to hostnames

DESCRIPTION

       The  /etc/ethers file is used in conjunction with the reverse address resolution protocol daemon (rarpd) to map Ethernet addresses to host-
       names.  It contains information about the known (48-bit) Ethernet addresses of hosts on the Internet.

       For each host on an Ethernet, a single line should be present in the file with the following information:

       Ethernet-address        official-host-name

       Items are separated by one or more spaces or tabs.  A number sign (#) indicates the beginning of a comment that extends to the end of line.

       The standard form for Ethernet addresses is:

       x:x:x:x:x:x

       The x is a hexadecimal number between 0 and ff, representing 1 byte.  The address bytes are always in network order.

       Hostnames can contain any printable character other than a space, tab, newline, or number sign (#).

       Hostnames in the /etc/ethers file should correspond to the hostnames in the /etc/hosts file or to those provided by the name service.

EXAMPLES

       The following is a sample ethers file:

       08:00:20:01:e5:1c       host1	    #  Comments  go  here  08:00:20:01:d0:4c	    host2	  #  Comments  go  here  08:00:20:01:e0:1d
       host3	    # Comments go here 08:00:20:00:c2:4e       host4	    # Comments go here

RELATED INFORMATION

       Commands: rarpd(8)

       Files: hosts(4), packetfilter(7)

       Routines: ethers(3) delim off

																	 ethers(4)