GATEWAYS(S)          Debian GNU/Linux Manual          GATEWAYS(S)



NAME
       gateways - File which lists gateways for routed

DESCRIPTION
       /etc/gateways  is  used  by routed(d); the file contains a
       list of gateways which may not be located  by  using  only
       information from the SIOGIFCONF ioctl(l) when routed(d) is
       started.

       Gateways specified in /etc/gateways should be marked  pas-
       sive if they are not expected to exchange routing informa-
       tion, while gateways marked active should  be  willing  to
       exchange  routing  information  (i.e.   they should have a
       routed(d) process running on the machine).  Routes through
       passive  gateways  are  installed  in the kernel's routing
       tables once upon startup.  Such routes are not included in
       any  routing information transmitted.  Active gateways are
       treated equally to network interfaces.   Routing  informa-
       tion  is  distributed  to  the  gateway  and if no routing
       information is received for a period of time, the  associ-
       ated  route is deleted.  Gateways marked external are also
       passive, but are not placed in the  kernel  routing  table
       nor are they included in routing updates.  The function of
       external entries is to inform routed(d) that another rout-
       ing  process will install such a route, and that alternate
       routes to that destination should not be  installed.  Such
       entries  are  only required when both routers may learn of
       routes to the same destination.

       /etc/gateways is comprised of a series of lines,  each  in
       the following format:

       [  net | host ] name1 gateway name2 metric value [ passive
       | active | external ]

       The net or host keyword indicates if the  route  is  to  a
       network or specific host.

       Name1  is  the  name  of  the destination network or host.
       This may be a symbolic name located  in  /etc/networks  or
       /etc/hosts  (or,  if  started after named(d), known to the
       name server), or an Internet address specified in  ``dot''
       notation; see inet(t).

       Name2  is the name or address of the gateway to which mes-
       sages should be forwarded.

       Value is a metric indicating the hop count to the destina-
       tion host or network.

       One  of the keywords passive, active or external indicates
       if the gateway should be treated as passive or active  (as
       described  above),  or  whether the gateway is external to
       the scope of the routed(d) protocol.

       Internetwork routers that are  directly  attached  to  the
       Arpanet or Milnet should use the Exterior Gateway Protocol
       EGP to gather routing  information  rather  then  using  a
       static  routing table of passive gateways. EGP is required
       in order to provide routes for local networks to the  rest
       of the Internet system.

FILES
       /etc/gateways

SEE ALSO
       Internet  Transport  Protocols,  XSIS 028112, Xerox System
       Integration Standard, routed(d).

HISTORY
       The routed(d) command appeared in 4.2BSD.

AUTHOR
       This  manpage  was  extracted  from  routed(d)  by   Steve
       Kostecke,  <steve@debian.org>,  for  the  Debian GNU/Linux
       system.



Debian                     5 July 1999                GATEWAYS(S)