PROTOCOLS
Section: Linux Programmer's Manual (5)
Updated: 2012-08-05
Page Index
NAME
protocols - protocols definition file
DESCRIPTION
This file is a plain ASCII file, describing the various DARPA internet
protocols that are available from the TCP/IP subsystem.
It should be
consulted instead of using the numbers in the ARPA include files, or,
even worse, just guessing them.
These numbers will occur in the
protocol field of any IP header.
Keep this file untouched since changes would result in incorrect IP
packages.
Protocol numbers and names are specified by the IANA
(Internet Assigned Numbers Authority).
Each line is of the following format:
-
protocol number aliases ...
where the fields are delimited by spaces or tabs.
Empty lines are ignored.
If a line contains a hash mark (#), the hash mark and the part
of the line following it are ignored.
The field descriptions are:
- protocol
-
the native name for the protocol.
For example
ip,
tcp,
or
udp.
- number
-
the official number for this protocol as it will appear within the IP
header.
- aliases
-
optional aliases for the protocol.
This file might be distributed over a network using a network-wide
naming service like Yellow Pages/NIS or BIND/Hesiod.
FILES
- /etc/protocols
-
The protocols definition file.
SEE ALSO
getprotoent(3)
COLOPHON
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