inetd(8c)
Name
inetd − internet service daemon
Syntax
/etc/inetd [ −d ] [ configfile ]
Description
The inetd daemon is the listener daemon for most of the internet service functions.
When inetd is started, it reads the configuration file specified (configfile) and opens a socket for each specified service.
When inetd receives a connection on a stream socket or a packet on a datagram socket, then inetd invokes the server specified in the configuration file to service the request. The server is given a socket descriptor of 0 for the service requested. The configfile is the configuration file specifying the services requiring the inetd daemon’s services. If a configuration file is not specified, then inetd uses the default file, /etc/inetd.conf. The format of this file is described in inetd.conf(.). The configuration file is reread whenever inetd receives a hangup signal.
Options
−dOpen all sockets with the debug option. The socket will be passed to the server with debug enabled.
Restrictions
The inetd daemon can only handle a limited number of services at any one time. This number is related to the maximum number of file descriptors that a process can have. If many services are needed, you should run multiple copies of inetd, each with its own individual configuration file.
Files
/etc/inetd.conf