The slpd daemon provides common server functionality for the Service Location Protocol ("SLP") versions 1 and 2, as defined by IETF in RFC 2165 and RFC 2608. SLP provides a scalable framework for the discovery and selection of network services.

slpd provides the following framework services:

Directory Agent

This service automatically caches service advertisements from service agents to provide them to user agents, and makes directory agent advertisements of its services. This service is optional. slpd does not provide directory agent service by default. Directory agents are not databases, and they do not need to be maintained.

Service Agent Server

All service agents on the local host register and deregister with this server. This service responds to all requests for services, and forwards registrations to directory agents. By default, slpd is a service agent server.

Passive Directory Agent Discovery

This service listens for directory agent advertisements and maintains a table of active directory agents. When a user agent wishes to discover a directory agent, it can simply query slpd, obviating the need to perform discovery by means of multicast. By default, slpd performs this service.

Proxy Registration

This service can act as a proxy service agent for services that cannot register themselves. slpd reads the proxy registration file for information on services it is to proxy. By default, no services are registered by proxy.

All configuration options are available from the configuration file. slpd reads its configuration file upon startup.

Stop and start the slpd daemon by using the startup script: /etc/init.d/slpd. Use the command /etc/init.d/slpd stop to stop the slpd daemon. Use the command /etc/init.d/slpd start to start it.

The file /etc/inet/slp.conf must exist before the startup script can start the daemon. Only the example file /etc/inet/slp.conf.example is present by default. To enable SLP, copy /etc/inet/slp.conf.example to /etc/inet/slp.conf.

The following options are supported:

-f configuration-file

Specify an alternate configuration file

/etc/inet/slp.conf

The default configuration file

slpd.reg

The proxy registration file

See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:

slp_api(3SLP), slp.conf(4), slpd.reg(4), attributes(5), slp(7P)

SYSADV4-tt

Guttman, E., Perkins, C., Veizades, J., and Day, M., RFC 2608, Service Location Protocol, Version 2, The Internet Society, June 1999.