osf1 man page for lo

lo(7)							 Miscellaneous Information Manual						     lo(7)

NAME
       lo - Software loopback network interface

SYNOPSIS
       pseudo-device loop

DESCRIPTION
       The  loopback  interface is a software loopback mechanism which is used for performance analysis, software testing, and/or local communica-
       tion.  As with other network interfaces, the loopback interface must have network addresses assigned for each address family with which	it
       is to be used.  These addresses may be set or changed with the SIOCSIFADDR ioctl.  The loopback interface should be the last interface con-
       figured, as protocols may use the order of configuration as an indication of priority.  The  loopback  should  never  be  configured  first
       unless no hardware interfaces exist.

NOTES
       Previous  versions  of  the UNIX system enabled the loopback interface automatically, using a nonstandard Internet address (127.1).  Use of
       that address is now discouraged; a reserved host address for the local network should be used instead.

ERRORS
       The interface was handed a message with addresses formatted in an unsuitable address family; the packet was dropped.

RELATED INFORMATION
       Networking: inet(7), netintro(7).  delim off

																	     lo(7)