# epmd

### COMMAND

epmd

### COMMAND SUMMARY

Erlang Port Mapper Daemon

### DESCRIPTION

This daemon acts as a name server on all hosts involved in distributed Erlang computations. When an Erlang node starts, the node has a name and it obtains an address from the host OS kernel. The name and the address are sent to the `epmd` daemon running on the local host. In a TCP/IP environment, the address consists of the IP address and a port number. The name of the node is an atom on the form of `Name@Node`. The job of the `epmd` daemon is to keep track of which node name listens on which address. Hence, `epmd` map symbolic node names to machine addresses.

The daemon is started automatically by the Erlang start-up script.

The program `epmd` can also be used for a variety of other purposes, for example checking the DNS (Domain Name System) configuration of a host.

### EXPORTS

`epmd [-daemon]`

Starts a name server as a daemon. If it has no argument, the `epmd` runs as a normal program with the controlling terminal of the shell in which it is started. Normally, it should run as a daemon.

`epmd -names`

Requests the names of the local Erlang nodes `epmd` has registered.

`epmd -kill`

Kills the `epmd` process.

`epmd -help`

Write short info about the usage including some debugging options not listed here.

### Logging

On some operating systems syslog will be used for error reporting when epmd runs as an daemon. To enable the error logging you have to edit /etc/syslog.conf file and add an entry

          !epmd
          *&ld;TABs&gt;/var/log/epmd.log

where <TABs> are real tab characters. Spaces will silently be ignored.

### AUTHORS

Claes Wikström - support@erlang.ericsson.se

erts 5.5.5
Copyright © 1991-2007 Ericsson AB