The port numbers on which certain "standard" services are offered are defined in the Assigned Numbers RFC. To enable server and client programs to convert service names to these numbers, at least part of the list is kept on each host; it is stored in a file called /etc/services. An entry is made up like this:
service port/protocol [aliases]
Here, service specifies the service name, port defines the port the service is offered on, and protocol defines which transport protocol is used. Commonly, the latter field is either udp or tcp. It is possible for a service to be offered for more than one protocol, as well as offering different services on the same port as long as the protocols are different. The aliases field allows you to specify alternative names for the same service.
Usually, you don't have to change the services file that comes along with the network software on your Linux system. Nevertheless, we give a small excerpt from that file in Example 10-2.
# /etc/services tcpmux 1/tcp # TCP port service multiplexer echo 7/tcp echo 7/udp discard 9/tcp sink null discard 9/udp sink null systat 11/tcp users daytime 13/tcp daytime 13/udp netstat 15/tcp qotd 17/tcp quote msp 18/tcp # message send protocol msp 18/udp # message send protocol chargen 19/tcp ttytst source chargen 19/udp ttytst source ftp-data 20/tcp ftp 21/tcp fsp 21/udp fspd ssh 22/tcp # SSH Remote Login Protocol ssh 22/udp # SSH Remote Login Protocol telnet 23/tcp # 24 - private smtp 25/tcp mail # 26 - unassigned
Like the services file, the networking library needs a way to translate protocol namesfor example, those used in the services fileto protocol numbers understood by the IP layer on other hosts. This is done by looking up the name in the /etc/protocols file. It contains one entry per line, each containing a protocol name, and the associated number. Having to touch this file is even more unlikely than having to meddle with /etc/services. A sample file is given in Example 10-3.
# # Internet (IP) protocols # ip 0 IP # internet protocol, pseudo protocol number icmp 1 ICMP # internet control message protocol igmp 2 IGMP # internet group multicast protocol tcp 6 TCP # transmission control protocol udp 17 UDP # user datagram protocol raw 255 RAW # RAW IP interface esp 50 ESP # Encap Security Payload for IPv6 ah 51 AH # Authentication Header for IPv6 skip 57 SKIP # SKIP ipv6-icmp 58 IPv6-ICMP # ICMP for IPv6 ipv6-nonxt 59 IPv6-NoNxt # No Next Header for IPv6 ipv6-opts 60 IPv6-Opts # Destination Options for IPv6 rspf 73 RSPF # Radio Shortest Path First.