routed Daemon

Purpose

Manages network routing tables.

Syntax

Note: Use SRC commands to control the routed daemon from the command line. Use the gated daemon, which supports all TCP/IP gateway protocols, the routed daemon only implements the Routing Information Protocol (RIP). Do not use the routed daemon when Exterior Gateway Protocol (EGP), Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), or Distributed Computer Network Local-Network Protocol (HELLO) routing is needed. Use the /etc/gateways file for information about these distant and external gateways.

The /etc/gateways file contains information about routes through distant and external gateways to hosts and networks that should be advertised through RIP. These routes can be either static routes to specific destinations or default routes for use when a static route to a destination is unknown. The format of the /etc/gateways file is:

{ net | hostname1 gateway name2 metric { passive | active | external }

When a gateway specified in the /etc/gateways file supplies RIP routing information, it should be marked as active. Active gateways are treated like network interfaces. That is, RIP routing information is distributed to the active gateway. If no RIP routing information is received from the gateway for a period of time, the routed daemon deletes the associated route from the routing tables.

A gateway that does not exchange RIP routing information should be marked as passive. Passive gateways are maintained in the routing tables indefinitely. Information about passive gateways is included in any RIP routing information transmitted.

An external gateway is identified to inform the routed daemon that another routing process will install such a route and that the routed daemon should not install alternative routes to that destination. External gateways are not maintained in the routing tables and information about them is not included in any RIP routing information transmitted.
Note: Routes through external gateways must be to networks only.

The routed daemon can also perform name resolution when routing to different networks. For example, the following command adds a route to the network called netname through the gateway called host1. The host1 gateway is one hop count away.

route add net netname host1 1

To perform network name resolution, the routed daemon uses the /etc/networks file to get information on the network addresses and their corresponding names. To perform host name resolution, the routed daemon must take additional steps before the routing is complete. First the daemon checks for the existence of the /etc/resolv.conf file. This file indicates whether the host is running under a domain name server, and if so, gives the IP address of the host machine running the named daemon.

If the /etc/resolv.conf file does not exist, the routed daemon uses the /etc/hosts file to find the host for which it is routing.

The routed daemon should be controlled using the System Resource Controller (SRC) or the System Management Interface Tool (SMIT). Entering the routed daemon at the command line is not recommended.

Manipulating the routed Daemon with the System Resource Controller

The routed daemon is a subsystem controlled by the System Resource Controller (SRC). The routed daemon is a member of the SRC tcpip system group. This daemon is disabled by default and can be manipulated by the following SRC commands:

Item Description
startsrc Starts a subsystem, group of subsystems, or subserver.
stopsrc Stops a subsystem, group of subsystems, or subserver.
tracesoff Disables tracing of a subsystem, group of subsystems, or subserver.
lssrc Gets the status of a subsystem, group of subsystems, or subserver.

Signals

The following signals have the specified effect when sent to the routed process using the kill command:

Item Description
SIGINT Restarts the routed daemon and flushes the routing table.
SIGHUP, SIGTERM, or SIGQUIT Broadcasts RIP packets with hop counts set to infinity. These signals disable the local host as a router. After a second SIGHUP, SIGTERM, or SIGQUIT signal, the routed daemon terminates.
SIGUSR1 Turns packet tracing on or, if packet tracing is already on, steps up the tracing one level. The first level traces transactions only. The second level traces transactions plus packets. The third level traces the packet history, reporting packet changes. The fourth level traces packet contents. This command increments the level of tracing through four levels.
SIGUSR2 Turns packet tracing off.

Flags

Item Description
-d Enables additional debugging information, such as bad packets received, to be logged.
-g Runs the routing daemon on a gateway host. The -g flag is used on internetwork routers to offer a route to the default destination.
-q Prevents the routed daemon from supplying routing information regardless of whether it is functioning as an internetwork router. The -q flag indicates "quiet". Do not use the -q flag and the -s flag together.
-s Supplies routing information regardless of whether it is functioning as an internetwork router. The -s flag indicates "supply". Do not use the -q flag and the -s flag together.
-t Writes all packets sent or received to standard output or to the file specified in the LogFile parameter. The routed daemon remains under control of the controlling terminal that started it. Therefore, an interrupt from the controlling terminal keyboard stops the routed process.

Examples

  1. To start the routed daemon manually, type:
    startsrc -s routed -a "-s"
    Note: The routed daemon is not started by default at each system startup. Use the rc.tcpip file format and a System Resource Controller (SRC) command to start the routed daemon. You can also start the routed daemon using the System Management Interface Tool (SMIT).

    The -s flag causes the routed daemon to return routing information regardless of whether the routed daemon is an internetwork router.

  2. To stop the routed daemon, type the following:
    stopsrc -s routed
  3. To get a short-status report from the routed daemon, type the following:
    lssrc -s routed
    This command returns the name of the daemon, the process ID of the daemon, and the state of the daemon (active or inactive).
  4. To enable tracing for routed daemon, type the following:
    traceson -s routed
    This command enables socket-level debugging. Use the html