Provided by: net-tools_1.60-25ubuntu2.1_amd64 
NAME
route - show / manipulate the IP routing table
SYNOPSIS
route [-CFvnee]
route [-v] [-A family] add [-net|-host] target [netmask Nm] [gw Gw] [metric N] [mss M]
[window W] [irtt I] [reject] [mod] [dyn] [reinstate] [[dev] If]
route [-v] [-A family] del [-net|-host] target [gw Gw] [netmask Nm] [metric N] [[dev] If]
route [-V] [--version] [-h] [--help]
DESCRIPTION
Route manipulates the kernel's IP routing tables. Its primary use is to set up static
routes to specific hosts or networks via an interface after it has been configured with
the ifconfig(8) program.
When the add or del options are used, route modifies the routing tables. Without these
options, route displays the current contents of the routing tables.
OPTIONS
-A family
use the specified address family (eg `inet'; use `route --help' for a full list).
-F operate on the kernel's FIB (Forwarding Information Base) routing table. This is
the default.
-C operate on the kernel's routing cache.
-v select verbose operation.
-n show numerical addresses instead of trying to determine symbolic host names. This
is useful if you are trying to determine why the route to your nameserver has
vanished.
-e use netstat(8)-format for displaying the routing table. -ee will generate a very
long line with all parameters from the routing table.
del delete a route.
add add a new route.
target the destination network or host. You can provide IP addresses in dotted decimal or
host/network names.
-net the target is a network.
-host the target is a host.
netmask NM
when adding a network route, the netmask to be used.
gw GW route packets via a gateway. NOTE: The specified gateway must be reachable first.
This usually means that you have to set up a static route to the gateway
beforehand. If you specify the address of one of your local interfaces, it will be
used to decide about the interface to which the packets should be routed to. This
is a BSDism compatibility hack.
metric M
set the metric field in the routing table (used by routing daemons) to M.
mss M set the TCP Maximum Segment Size (MSS) for connections over this route to M bytes.
The default is the device MTU minus headers, or a lower MTU when path mtu discovery
occurred. This setting can be used to force smaller TCP packets on the other end
when path mtu discovery does not work (usually because of misconfigured firewalls
that block ICMP Fragmentation Needed)
window W
set the TCP window size for connections over this route to W bytes. This is
typically only used on AX.25 networks and with drivers unable to handle back to
back frames.
irtt I set the initial round trip time (irtt) for TCP connections over this route to I
milliseconds (1-12000). This is typically only used on AX.25 networks. If omitted
the RFC 1122 default of 300ms is used.
reject install a blocking route, which will force a route lookup to fail. This is for
example used to mask out networks before using the default route. This is NOT for
firewalling.
mod, dyn, reinstate
install a dynamic or modified route. These flags are for diagnostic purposes, and
are generally only set by routing daemons.
dev If force the route to be associated with the specified device, as the kernel will
otherwise try to determine the device on its own (by checking already existing
routes and device specifications, and where the route is added to). In most normal
networks you won't need this.
If dev If is the last option on the command line, the word dev may be omitted, as
it's the default. Otherwise the order of the route modifiers (metric - netmask - gw
- dev) doesn't matter.
EXAMPLES
route add -net 127.0.0.0 netmask 255.0.0.0 dev lo
adds the normal loopback entry, using netmask 255.0.0.0 and associated with the
"lo" device (assuming this device was previously set up correctly with
ifconfig(8)).
route add -net 192.56.76.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 dev eth0
adds a route to the local network 192.56.76.x via "eth0". The word "dev" can be
omitted here.
route del default
deletes the current default route, which is labeled "default" or 0.0.0.0 in the
destination field of the current routing table.
route add default gw mango-gw
adds a default route (which will be used if no other route matches). All packets
using this route will be gatewayed through "mango-gw". The device which will
actually be used for that route depends on how we can reach "mango-gw" - the static
route to "mango-gw" will have to be set up before.
route add ipx4 sl0
Adds the route to the "ipx4" host via the SLIP interface (assuming that "ipx4" is
the SLIP host).
route add -net 192.57.66.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 gw ipx4
This command adds the net "192.57.66.x" to be gatewayed through the former route to
the SLIP interface.
route add -net 224.0.0.0 netmask 240.0.0.0 dev eth0
This is an obscure one documented so people know how to do it. This sets all of the
class D (multicast) IP routes to go via "eth0". This is the correct normal
configuration line with a multicasting kernel.
route add -net 10.0.0.0 netmask 255.0.0.0 reject
This installs a rejecting route for the private network "10.x.x.x."
OUTPUT
The output of the kernel routing table is organized in the following columns
Destination
The destination network or destination host.
Gateway
The gateway address or '*' if none set.
Genmask
The netmask for the destination net; '255.255.255.255' for a host destination and
'0.0.0.0' for the default route.
Flags Possible flags include
U (route is up)
H (target is a host)
G (use gateway)
R (reinstate route for dynamic routing)
D (dynamically installed by daemon or redirect)
M (modified from routing daemon or redirect)
A (installed by addrconf)
C (cache entry)
! (reject route)
Metric The 'distance' to the target (usually counted in hops). It is not used by recent
kernels, but may be needed by routing daemons.
Ref Number of references to this route. (Not used in the Linux kernel.)
Use Count of lookups for the route. Depending on the use of -F and -C this will be
either route cache misses (-F) or hits (-C).
Iface Interface to which packets for this route will be sent.
MSS Default maximum segment size for TCP connections over this route.
Window Default window size for TCP connections over this route.
irtt Initial RTT (Round Trip Time). The kernel uses this to guess about the best TCP
protocol parameters without waiting on (possibly slow) answers.
HH (cached only)
The number of ARP entries and cached routes that refer to the hardware header cache
for the cached route. This will be -1 if a hardware address is not needed for the
interface of the cached route (e.g. lo).
Arp (cached only)
Whether or not the hardware address for the cached route is up to date.
FILES
/proc/net/ipv6_route
/proc/net/route
/proc/net/rt_cache
SEE ALSO
ifconfig(8), netstat(8), arp(8), rarp(8)
HISTORY
Route for Linux was originally written by Fred N. van Kempen,
<waltje@uwalt.nl.mugnet.org> and then modified by Johannes Stille and Linus Torvalds for
pl15. Alan Cox added the mss and window options for Linux 1.1.22. irtt support and merged
with netstat from Bernd Eckenfels.
AUTHOR
Currently maintained by Phil Blundell <Philip.Blundell@pobox.com> and Bernd Eckenfels
<net-tools@lina.inka.de>.