Hosts file format

The probe needs a hosts file to connect to multiple hosts. The HostsFile property specifies from which file the probe gets host information. The probe reads the hosts file and attempts to connect and log in to each host.

If the HostsFile property is defined, the probe attempts to open the specified file. This file must contain the required connection information for the probe in the following format:

host port : chi, cho, ft, ia, ri, ra, af;

The following table describes the hosts file format.

Table 1. Hosts file format
Item Description
host

This item specifies the host to which the probe connects.

port

This item specifies the port to which the probe connects.

chi

This item specifies the chat in string for the host/port.

cho

This item specifies the chat out string for the host/port.

ft

This item specifies the flush time value for the host/port.

ia

This item specifies the inactivity alarm for the host/port.

ri

This item specifies the reconnection interval.

ra

This item specifies the reconnection attempts.

af

This item specifies the active flag. You must set this to True. Setting this to False deactivates the connection.

When you create a hosts file, note the following information:

  • In the hosts file, the end of each entry is indicated by a semicolon.
  • Whitespace and commas separate individual elements within a line.
  • Whitespace characters are sp and tab.
  • Comment lines are preceded #.
  • Blank lines are ignored.
  • You can force the probe reread the hosts file without restarting the probe by issuing a USR1 signal. To do this, enter the command kill -USR1 pid, where pid is the process identifier of the probe.