Configuring the hosts file

The probe can connect to multiple Tandem SCP devices. You must configure the connection details for each device's host machine in the tandem_scp.hosts file supplied with the probe.

When the probe starts up, it first checks the HostsFile property for the presence of a hosts file. If you have not specified a hosts file, the probe then checks the Host and Port properties for the host name and port details of a single Tandem SCP host. If you have specified values for all three properties, the probe will use the details in the hosts file.

The format of a host entry in the hosts file is as follows:

host port : chi cho ft ia ri ra af ;

Each entry must end with a semicolon (;). Individual elements of an entry are separated by one of the following white space characters: space (sp), tab (tab), carriage return (cr), or newline (nl). Blank lines are ignored.

The following table describes the available elements for a host entry.

Table 1. Hosts file elements
element	Description
`host`	This element specifies the host to which the probe connects.
`port`	This element specifies the port to which the probe connects.
`chi`	This element specifies the chatin string.
`cho`	This element specifies the chatout string.
`ft`	This element specifies the flush time value.
`ia`	This element specifies the inactivity time.
`ri`	This element specifies the reconnection interval.
`ra`	This element specifies the number of reconnection attempts.
`af`	This element specifies the active flag. You must set this element to `True`. Setting this to `False` deactivates the connection.