HOSTS(5)

NAME
hosts - hostname to IP address database

SYNOPSIS
/etc/hosts

DESCRIPTION
The hosts database lists the IP addresses and the hostnames that translate to these IP addresses. It is used by nonamed(8) in a network without name servers. A simple /etc/hosts may look like this:

    10.0.0.1	flotsam
    10.0.0.2	jetsam

These two entries give names to two IP addresses. The file may contain comments marked with '#'.

You can have aliases (more hostnames on the same line) to give a machine more than one name, like www, if you run a web server on one.

If your PC is Internet connected then you can specify the name server(s) to get more information from with %nameserver entries:

    172.16.24.3	%nameserver	# dns1.example.com
    172.16.24.6	%nameserver	# dns2.example.com

Read nonamed(8) for all the details on special host file entries that configure nonamed for use on the Internet, and on home machines that are occasionally connected to the Internet.

FILES

/etc/hosts
    Hosts database.

SEE ALSO
ethers(5), nonamed(8), dhcpd(8), boot(8).

AUTHOR
Kees J. Bot (kjb@cs.vu.nl)