Definition of Networks File in Network Encyclopedia.

What is Networks File?

Networks File is a text file that provides a local method of resolving network names into their network IDs on a TCP/IP network. The entries in the networks file are friendly names for TCP/IP networks; they can be used in TCP/IP commands such as the route command and for TCP/IP network management.

How It Works

The networks file is at the following location on computers running Microsoft Windows:

• Windows NT and Windows 2000: %SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc
• Windows 95 and Windows 98: \Windows

Each line in the networks file contains a friendly network name for the network, followed by the IP address of the network and an optional comment prefixed with a pound sign (#). The following example is from the sample networks file included with Windows 95 and Windows 98:

loopback     127
campus       284.122.107
london       284.122.108

Web References

• hosts file
• lmhosts file
• protocol file
• services file