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/ethers

SEE ALSO

ethers(3SOCKET), hosts(5), nsswitch.conf(5)

February 25, 2017 ETHERS(5)