Index for Section 8

Alphabetical listing for I

inetd(8)
NAME
  inetd - Internet super-server

SYNOPSIS
  inetd [-d] [-R rate] [configfile]

FLAGS
  -d	    Dumps debugging messages to syslogd(8) and to standard error.

  -R rate   Specifies the maximum number of times a service can be invoked in
	    one minute.	 The default is 2 billion (INT_MAX).

  configfile
	    By default, this file is /etc/inetd.conf.  It contains
	    configuration information that the daemon reads at startup.

DESCRIPTION
  The inetd daemon should be run at boot time by inetd in /sbin/init.d. It
  then listens for connections on certain Internet sockets.  When a
  connection is found on one of its sockets, it decides what service the
  socket corresponds to, and invokes a program to service the request.	After
  the program is finished, it continues to listen on the socket (except in
  some cases that are discussed later in this reference page.  Essentially,
  inetd allows running one daemon to invoke several others, reducing load on
  the system.

  Upon execution, inetd reads its configuration information from a
  configuration file, which, by default, is /etc/inetd.conf.  There must be
  an entry for each field of the configuration file, with entries for each
  field separated by a tab or a space.	Comments are denoted by a # (number
  sign) at the beginning of a line.  There must be an entry for each field.
  The fields of the configuration file are as follows:

       ServiceName SocketType ProtocolName  Wait/Nowait UserName \
       ServerPath ServerArgs

  (Note: The backslash and the continuation of information on to a second
  line is for display purposes only. In the configuration file, the entries
  appear on a single line.)

  The ServiceName entry is the name of a valid service in the /etc/services/
  file.	 For Internal services (discussed below), the service name must be
  the official name of the service (that is, the first entry in
  /etc/services).

  The SocketType should be one of stream, dgram, raw, rdm, or seqpacket,
  depending on whether the socket is a stream, datagram, raw, reliably
  delivered message, or sequenced packet socket.  You can also use xstream
  and xdgram to permit the transparent mode of connections for stream and
  datagram sockets, respectively.  Currently, only application gateways for
  firewall services use the transparent mode of connection.

  The ProtocolName must be a valid protocol as given in /etc/protocols.
  Examples might be tcp or udp.


  The Wait/Nowait entry is applicable to datagram sockets only (other sockets
  should have a NOWAIT entry in this space).  If a datagram server connects
  to its peer, freeing the socket so inetd can receive further messages on
  the socket, it is said to be a multithreaded server, and should use the
  nowait entry.	 For datagram servers that process all incoming datagrams on
  a socket and eventually time out, the server is said to be single-threaded,
  and should use a wait entry.	Comsat (biff) and talk are both examples of
  the latter type of datagram server.  tftpd is an exception; it is a
  datagram server that establishes pseudoconnections.  It must be listed as
  wait in order to avoid a race; the server reads the first packet, creates a
  new socket, and then forks and exits to allow inetd to check for new
  service requests to spawn new servers.

  The UserName entry should contain the username of the user as whom the
  server should run.  This allows for servers to be given less permission
  than root.  The ServerPath entry should contain the pathname of the program
  that is to be executed by inetd when a request is found on its socket.  If
  inetd provides this service internally, this entry should be internal.

  The arguments to the ServerPath should be just as they normally are,
  starting with argv[0], which is the name of the program.  If the service is
  provided internally, the word ``internal'' should take the place of this
  entry.

  The inetd daemon provides several trivial services internally by use of
  routines within itself.  These services are echo, discard, chargen
  (character generator), daytime (human-readable time), and time (machine-
  readable time, in the form of the number of seconds since midnight January
  1, 1900).  All of these services are tcp or udp based.  (Note: These
  services are initially turned off. To turn them on, you must remove the
  comment leader of the service in /etc/inetd.conf and send a SIGHUP signal
  to inetd.) For details of these services, consult the appropriate RFC from
  the Network Information Center.

  The inetd daemon rereads its configuration file when it receives a hangup
  signal, SIGHUP.  Services may be added, deleted, or modified when the
  configuration file is reread.

  You can use the inetd daemon to start RPC daemons by adding them to the
  inetd.conf file.  When you add an RPC service it must be followed by a
  slash (/) and the range of version supported.	 Also, the protocol field
  must consist of the string rpc followed by a slash (/) and protocol listed
  in the /etc/protocols file.

RESTRICTIONS
  The inetd daemon can start 500 instances of a server within an interval of
  60 seconds. This feature has been added to prevent inetd from taking up all
  the available process slots the system has to offer.	When the limit is
  reached, inetd terminates the service.

FILES
  /usr/sbin/inetd
	    Specifies the command path.

  /var/run/inetd.pid
	    Process ID.


RELATED INFORMATION
  Commands:  comsat(8)

  Daemons:  fingerd(8), ftpd(8), rexecd(8), rlogind(8), rpc.rquotad(8),
  rpc.rstatd(8), rpc.rusersd(8), rpc.rwalld(8), rpc.sprayd(8), rshd(8),
  telnetd(8), tftpd(8)