Index Index for
Section 8
Index Alphabetical
listing for I
Bottom of page Bottom of
page		 

inetd(8)


NAME

  inetd - Internet services daemon


SYNOPSIS

  For starting the daemon:

  inetd [-d] [-R rate] [-r radid] [configfile]

  For signaling the running daemon:

  inetd [-d] [-h | -q | -s | -t]


FLAGS

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

  -h	    Sends the currently running master inetd daemon a SIGHUP signal,
	    which causes it to reread its configuration files.

  -q	    Sends the currently running master inetd daemon a SIGQUIT signal,
	    which kills all inetd child daemons, but none of the services
	    that the child daemons have started.  The master inetd daemon
	    continues to run.

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

  -r radid  Specifies the identifier of the Resource Affinity Domain (RAD) on
	    which to start an inetd child daemon.  You can specify this
	    option multiple times on the command line (see the "Examples"
	    section).  The default is to start a child daemon on all RADs.

  -s	    Sends the currently running master inetd daemon a SIGUSR2 signal,
	    which kills all inetd daemons, including the master inetd daemon,
	    and all services that they have started.

  -t	    Sends the currently running master inetd daemon a SIGTERM signal,
	    which kills all inetd daemons, including the master inetd daemon,
	    but none of the services that they have started.

  configfile
	    By default, the files are /etc/inetd.conf and
	    /etc/inetd.conf.local.  They contain configuration information
	    that the daemon reads at startup.  If you specify configfile on
	    the command line, only that file is read at startup.


DESCRIPTION

  The inetd daemon should be run at boot time by inetd in the /sbin/init.d
  directory.  At startup, it determines how many RADs are present (if on
  NUMA-capable hardware) and starts an inetd child daemon on each RAD.	On
  non-NUMA hardware, only one inetd child daemon is started.  Each inetd
  child 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, each inetd child reads its configuration information from
  the two configuration files, which, by default, are /etc/inetd.conf and
  /etc/inetd.conf.local; the /etc/inetd.conf file is read first.  There must
  be an entry for each field of the configuration files, 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.  If an entry exists in both
  configuration files, the entry in the /etc/inetd.conf.local file overrides
  the entry in the /etc/inetd.conf file.  See inetd.conf(4) for more
  information.

  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, and support both
  IPv4 and IPv6.  (Note: These services are initially turned off.  To turn
  them on, you must remove the comment leader of the service in
  /etc/inetd.conf or /etc/inetd.conf.local, depending on your configuration,
  and send a SIGHUP signal to inetd.)  For details of these services, consult
  the appropriate RFC.

  The inetd daemon rereads its configuration files when it receives a hangup
  signal, SIGHUP.  Services may be added, deleted, or modified when the
  configuration files are reread.  You should use the -h option to send a
  SIGHUP signal.

  You can use the inetd daemon to start RPC daemons by adding them to the
  inetd.conf or inetd.conf.local 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.

  Resource Affinity Domains and inetd


  When you add a new RAD, complete the following steps:

   1.  Add the RAD.

   2.  Configure the RAD.

   3.  Issue the inetd -h command to force inetd to reread its configuration
       file.

  When you delete a RAD, complete the following steps:

   1.  Issue the inetd -q command to kill all child daemons.

   2.  Unconfigure the RAD.

   3.  Remove the RAD.

   4.  Issue the inetd -h command to force inetd to reread its configuration
       file.

  See the appropriate hardware documentation for the actual procedure for
  adding and deleting a RAD.


EXAMPLES

  To start an inetd daemon on RADs 1 and 2, enter:

       #  inetd -r1 -r2


FILES

  /usr/sbin/inetd
	    Specifies the command path.

  /etc/inetd.conf
	    The global configuration file.

  /etc/inetd.conf.local
	    The cluster member-specific configuration file.

  /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).

  Files:  inetd.conf(4).

Index Index for
Section 8
Index Alphabetical
listing for I
Top of page Top of
page