reconf-inetd (8)

reconf-inetd [--verbose]

reconf-inetd --sanity-check=fragment [... fragment]

reconf-inetd is a maintainer tool that updates inetd.conf. Such updates are based on xinetd.conf-like configuration fragments in /usr/share/reconf-inetd (where server packages install their fragments) and /usr/lib/reconf-inetd (where reconf-inetd keeps track of which inetd.conf entries have been added by itself).

reconf-inetd identifies every inetd.conf entry based on the combination of three fields: service name, protocol, and server path. This allows multiple inetd.conf entries for the same service, eg. for IPv4 and IPv6 versions, as well as for different upstreams (eg. proftpd versus ftpd-ssl).

reconf-inetd will not add inetd.conf entries for services whose server path is non-existent, or whose combination of protocol, service name and server path matches an existing inetd.conf entry.

reconf-inetd does not support internal services.

-h, --help

show this help message and exit

-c FRAGMENTS_TO_CHECK, --sanity-check=FRAGMENTS_TO_CHECK

test the validity of the xinetd.conf-like configuration fragments, as specified by a space-separated list of files

-v, --verbose

explain what happens

-V, --version

show version and exit

reconf-inetd declares a file-based dpkg trigger on /usr/share/reconf-inetd. Shadow fragment files are stored in /var/lib/reconf-inetd.

A log file is kept at /var/log/reconf-inetd.log

reconf-inetd fragments are a much simplified version of xinetd.conf(5) fragments. They have this structure:

service <service_name>
{
<attribute> = <value> <value> ...
...

}

Of the wide range of fields foreseen by xinetd.conf(5), reconf-inetd honors only these fields:

  socket_type
  protocol          (optional, except for RPC and unlisted services)
  port              (optional, except for unlisted non-RPC services)
  wait
  user
  server
  server_args       (optional)

If the protocol field is omitted and the service is listed, reconf-inetd will assume the protocol of the first matching entry from /etc/services. That will be tcp or udp, which currently implies IPv4, so if the intention is IPv6, then tcp6 or udp6 should be explicitly specified in the protocol field.

Unlike, regular xinetd fragment files, reconf-inetd fragment files must have only one service per file. A package that provides more than one service must install a separate fragment file for each service. This is the case to allow for removal of individual services, by simply removing the related file.

/usr/share/reconf-inetd fragments are not configuration files; they're just input to reconf-inetd. Local admin configuration should be applied to inetd.conf

tcpd-configured service fragments will typically have server set to /usr/sbin/tcpd and server_args will start with the path to the actual server executable.

Follows a reproduction of valid atrribute values from xinetd.conf(5):

socket_type Possible values for this attribute include:

stream

stream-based service

dgram

datagram-based service

raw

service that requires direct access to IP

seqpacket

service that requires reliable sequential datagram transmission

protocol

determines the protocol that is employed by the service. The protocol must exist in /etc/protocols. If this attribute is not defined, the default protocol employed by the service will be used.

port

determines the service port.

wait

This attribute determines if the service is single-threaded or multi-threaded and whether or not xinetd accepts the connection or the server program accepts the connection. If its value is yes, the service is single-threaded; this means that xinetd will start the server and then it will stop handling requests for the service until the server dies and that the server software will accept the connection. If the attribute value is no, the service is multi-threaded and xinetd will keep handling new service requests and xinetd will accept the connection. It should be noted that udp/dgram services normally expect the value to be yes since udp is not connection oriented, while tcp/stream servers normally expect the value to be no.

user

determines the uid for the server process. The user attribute can either be numeric or a name. If a name is given (recommended), the user name must exist in /etc/passwd. This attribute is ineffective if the effective user ID of xinetd is not super-user.

server

determines the program to execute for this service.

server_args

determines the arguments passed to the server.

Here is an example fragment:

    service finger
    {
        socket_type = stream
        protocol = tcp6
        wait = no
        user = nobody
        server = /usr/sbin/fingerd
    }

and it's tcpd-enabled version:

    service finger
    {
        socket_type = stream
        protocol = tcp6
        wait = no
        user = nobody
        server = /usr/sbin/tcpd
        server_args = /usr/sbin/fingerd
    }

Known issues and missing features are listed in /usr/share/doc/reconf-inetd/TODO

reconf-inetd is a replacement for update-inetd. The motivation for and design of reconf-inetd is detailed at the Debian Enhancement Proposal 9, at http://dep.debian.net/deps/dep9/, a copy of which is locally available at /usr/share/doc/reconf-inetd/dep9.html

reconf-inetd was designed, documented and implemented by Serafeim Zanikolas <[email protected]>

inetd.conf(5), xinetd.conf(5), inetd(8), update-inetd(8), deb-triggers(5)