The format of your network database depends on the type of name service you select for your network. For example, the hosts database contains, at least the host name and IPv4 address of the local system and any network interfaces that are directly connected to the local system. However, the hosts database could contain other IPv4 addresses and host names, depending on the type of name service on your network.
The network databases are used as follows:
Networks that use local files for their name service rely on files in the /etc/inet and /etc directories.
DNS boot and data files do not correspond directly to the network databases.
The following figure shows the forms of the hosts database that are used by these name services.
The following table lists the network databases and their corresponding local files and NIS maps.
The ipnodes database is removed from Solaris releases after Solaris 10 11/06.
Network Database |
Local Files |
NIS Maps |
---|---|---|
/etc/inet/hosts |
hosts.byaddr hosts.byname |
|
ipnodes |
/etc/inet/ipnodes |
ipnodes.byaddr ipnodes.byname |
/etc/inet/netmasks |
netmasks.byaddr |
|
/etc/ethers |
ethers.byname ethers.byaddr |
|
/etc/bootparams |
bootparams |
|
/etc/inet/protocols |
protocols.byname protocols.bynumber |
|
/etc/inet/services |
services.byname |
|
/etc/inet/networks |
networks.byaddr networks.byname |
This book discusses network databases as they are viewed by networks that use local files for name services.
Information about the hosts database is in hosts Database.
Information about the netmasks database is in netmasks Database.
Refer to System Administration Guide: Naming and Directory Services (DNS, NIS, and LDAP) for information on network databases correspondences in NIS, DNS, and LDAP.