gateways(4)						     Kernel Interfaces Manual						       gateways(4)

NAME

       gateways - Specifies Internet routing information to the routed daemon

SYNOPSIS

       /etc/gateways

DESCRIPTION

       The  /etc/gateways  file  identifies  gateways for the routed daemon.  Ordinarily, the routed daemon queries the network and builds routing
       tables.	The routed daemon builds the tables from routing information transmitted by other hosts directly connected to  the  network.  How-
       ever,  there may be gateways that this command cannot identify through its queries.  These unidentified gateways are known as distant gate-
       ways. Such gateways should be identified in the /etc/gateways file, which the routed daemon reads when it starts.

       The general format of an file entry in the /etc/gateways file is: Destination Name1 gateway Name2 metric Value Type

       The following is a brief description of each element in an /etc/gateways file entry: A keyword that indicates whether the  route  is  to  a
       network	or  to	a specific host. The two possible keywords are net and host.  The name associated with Destination.  Name1 can be either a
       symbolic name (as used in the /etc/hosts or /etc/networks file) or an Internet address specified in dotted-decimal  format.   An  indicator
       that  the following string identifies the gateway host.	The name or address of the gateway host to which messages should be forwarded.	An
       indicator that the next string represents the hop count to the destination host or network.  The hop count, or number of gateways, from the
       local  network to the destination network.  A keyword that indicates whether the gateway should be treated as active, passive, or external.
       The three possible keywords are as follows: An active gateway is treated like a network interface.  That is, it is expected to exchange RIP
       (Routing  Information  Protocol)  routing  information.	Information about it is maintained in the internal routing tables as long as it is
       active and is included in any routing information that is transmitted through RIP. If it does not respond for a period of time,	the  route
       associated  with  it  is  deleted from the internal routing tables.  A passive gateway is not expected to exchange RIP routing information.
       Information about it is maintained in the routing tables indefinitely and is included  in  any  routing	information  that  is  transmitted
       through RIP.  An external gateway is identified to inform the routed daemon that another routing process will install such a route and that
       alternative routes to that destination should not be installed. Information about external gateways is not maintained in the internal rout-
       ing tables and is not transmitted through RIP.
       Note that these routes must be to networks.

EXAMPLES

       To specify a route to a network through a gateway host with an entry in the gateways file, enter: net net2 gateway host4 metric 4 passive

	      This  example specifies a route to a network, net2, through the gateway host4. The hop count metric to net2 is 4, and the gateway is
	      treated as passive.  To specify a route to a host through a gateway host with an entry in the gateways file, enter: host host2 gate-
	      way host4 metric 4 passive

	      This  example  specifies a route to a host, host2, through the gateway host4. The hop count metric to host2 is 4, and the gateway is
	      treated as passive.  To specify a route to a host through an active Internet gateway with an entry in the gateways file, enter: host
	      host10 gateway 192.100.11.5 metric 9 active

	      This example specifies a route to a specific host, host10, through the gateway 192.100.11.5. The hop count metric to host10 is 9 and
	      the gateway is treated as active.  To specify a route to a host through a passive Internet gateway with an  entry  in  the  gateways
	      file, enter: host host10 gateway 192.100.11.5 metric 9 passive

	      This  example  specifies	a route to a specific host, host10, through the gateway 192.100.11.5.  The hop metric count to host10 is 9
	      and the gateway is treated as passive.  To specify a route to a network through an external gateway, enter a line in  the  following
	      format: net net5 gateway host7 metric 11 external

	      This  example specifies a route to a network, net5, through the gateway host7. The hop count metric to net5 is 11 and the gateway is
	      treated as external (that is, it is not advertised through RIP, but is advertised through an unspecified routing protocol).

RELATED INFORMATION

       Daemons: gated(8), routed(8) delim off

																       gateways(4)