File
The purpose of the /etc/networks file
Also wondering what some files are used for on Linux systems? In this article we have a look at the /etc/networks file.
Summary
Also wondering what particular files do on Linux? One of those files we recently rediscovered during auditing is the /etc/networks file. For some reason it was always there, yet we never change it. Output of /etc/networks When looking at the man page of networks(5) we learn its purpose (almost instantly): It translates between IP ranges and network names It is used for tools like netstat and route It only works on class A, B, or C networks It does not work on subnets Surprisingly enough a test with subnetting actually showed the right names during our test.