loopback device

praveenv · 08-23-2004, 06:44 AM

Friends !

What is loopback device. When I "ifconfig" it is also displaying lo:

what it is exactly

michaelk · 08-23-2004, 07:04 AM

A network loopback device i.e. lo is assigned the IP address 127.0.0.1, its is also known as localhost. It allows one to run network applications on the computer without need for a network card.

There are several webserver applications that are usefull in configuring the OS like webmin, swat and cups.

There are filesystem loop devices too. This allows one to mount a file as a block device. An example would be to mount an ISO file to examine its contents.

elsheikhmh · 08-23-2004, 07:27 AM

simply, a virtual ethernet device. in addition, u can use it to "test" the network services installed on your machine without the need to a real network connection.

also, loopback filesystem are mcuh like virtual CD file in windo$ (spell!)

mustafa