NDB(6)NDB(6)NAMEndb - network data base
SYNOPSIS
/lib/ndb/local
/lib/ndb/inferno
/lib/ndb/dns
/lib/ndb/common
DESCRIPTION
Network configuration data is stored in one or more files in the direc‐
tory /lib/ndb, in the attribute data base format defined by attrdb(6).
Most applications that use it start with /lib/ndb/local by default.
That can refer (using a database entry) to other files that form part
of the same logical database. They are stored in distinct files to
allow different configurations to avoid duplicating data by sharing
some common content. For example, /lib/ndb/common associates service
names with port numbers for Internet protocols, and /lib/ndb/inferno
provides the Inferno-specific port mapping. A database is automati‐
cally reread if any component file has changed since it was last read
(based on its modification time).
A network database gives particular meaning to the following
attributes:
auth name or address of authentication server
bootf name of the file to send to a device on request when booting
dns name or address of DNS resolver (see also the ns attribute
below)
dnsdomain
domain in which the local host lives (used to qualify unquali‐
fied names)
dom Internet domain name (host or DNS zone)
ether Ethernet address in the form accepted by ether(2)
fs name or address of file server
il IL service name
infernosite
empty-valued attribute that labels default site parameters
ip Internet address
ipgw name or address of Internet gateway
ipmask Internet network mask
ipnet network or subnetwork name
ipv4proto
IPv4 protocol number (see also protocol)
mx mail exchanger
ns name of a DNS name server for an associated dom
port port number for a service
protocol
protocol name
soa start of area (value is empty if locally authoritative, or `del‐
egated' if another server is authoritative)
sys system name (short local name for a host)
tcp TCP service name
udp UDP service name
Internet addresses and masks can be written in any form accepted by
Ip(2). Network applications might use other attributes of their own,
which they document on their own pages.
Cs (8) interprets a host name of the form $server as referring to the
set of names and addresses that are values of the attribute server in
the network data base. Attributes in general use include some of those
above, and the following:
FILESERVER
older name for file server fs file server
pop3 mail reading service using the POP3 protocol
PROXY firewall proxy for ftpfs(4)
SIGNER Inferno authentication server running logind(8) and/or signer(8)
smtp mail delivery gateway using the SMTP protocol
Other such symbolic server names are mentioned in the manual pages for
associated applications.
Dns(8) interprets dns and dnsdomain values in any infernosite entry,
and dom, ip, and ns values more generally. When resolving a domain
name, dns looks first in this data base to see if there is a dom entry
for the name, and if so, whether there is either an associated ns
attribute giving a name server to ask, or an ip attribute giving the
name's IP address. Failing that, it works up the name hierarchy look‐
ing for name servers to ask. Failing that, it looks for a dnsdomain
entry with dns attributes listing other resolvers to ask. Bootstrap
data is commonly stored in /lib/ndb/dns; by default it defines the root
name servers:
dom= # root
ns=a.root-servers.net
ns=b.root-servers.net
...
dom=a.root-servers.net ip=198.41.0.4
dom=b.root-servers.net ip=128.9.0.107
...
EXAMPLE
Specify the site's default DNS domain name and resolvers for dns(8),
and a collection of symbolic service names for cs(8):
infernosite=
dnsdomain=vitanuova.com
dns=200.1.1.11
dns=158.152.1.58
dns=158.152.1.43
SIGNER=doppio
FILESERVER=doppio
smtp=doppio
pop3=doppio
PROXY=doppio
GAMES=vivido
IRMSERVER=vivido
FILES
/lib/ndb/*
SEE ALSOattrdb(2), attrdb(6), bootpd(8), cs(8), dns(8)NDB(6)
