'\" te
.\"  Copyright 1989 AT&T  Copyright (c) 1988 Sun Microsystems, Inc. - All Rights Reserved.
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.\" You can obtain a copy of the license at usr/src/OPENSOLARIS.LICENSE or http://www.opensolaris.org/os/licensing.  See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.
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.TH ETHERS 4 "Jul 22, 2004"
.SH NAME
ethers \- Ethernet address to hostname database or domain
.SH DESCRIPTION
.sp
.LP
The \fBethers\fR file is a local source of information about the (48-bit)
Ethernet addresses of hosts on the Internet. The \fBethers\fR file can be used
in conjunction with or instead of other \fBethers\fR sources, including the
\fBNIS\fR maps \fBethers.byname\fR and \fBethers.byaddr\fR, the \fBNIS+\fR
table \fBethers\fR, or Ethernet address data stored on an LDAP server. Programs
use the \fBethers\fR(3SOCKET) routines to access this information.
.sp
.LP
The \fBethers\fR file has one line for each host on an Ethernet. The line has
the following format:
.sp
.LP
\fIEthernet-address\fR \fIofficial-host-name\fR
.sp
.LP
Items are separated by any number of \fBSPACE\fR and/or \fBTAB\fR characters. A
`\fB#\fR' indicates the beginning of a comment extending to the end of line.
.sp
.LP
The standard form for Ethernet addresses is
"\fIx\fR\fB:\fR\fIx\fR\fB:\fR\fIx\fR\fB:\fR\fIx\fR\fB:\fR\fIx\fR\fB:\fR\fIx\fR"
where \fIx\fR 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 \fBSPACE\fR, \fBTAB\fR, \fBNEWLINE\fR, or
comment character.
.SH FILES
.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fB/etc/ethers\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 15n

.RE

.SH SEE ALSO
.sp
.LP
\fBethers\fR(3SOCKET), \fBhosts\fR(4), \fBnsswitch.conf\fR(4)