The netstat -r command provides information about the usage
of each route configured on your system. A route consists of a
destination host or network and a network interface used to
exchange packets. Direct routes are created for each interface
attached to the local host.
At a minimum, your routing table should display entries for the loopback
mechanism (localhost), the local network, the local hostname,
and the IP Multicasting route, 224. The following is a
typical display:
Routing tables
Destination Gateway Flags Refs Use Interface
localhost localhost UH 24 66 lo0
132.147.118 nile UC 1 0 net0
nile localhost UGHS 3 36 lo0
224 nile UCS 0 0 net0
The columns display:
Destination
Network or host to which this route allows you to connect.
Gateway
Name of the gateway you configured for this route.
If you are directly connected, this is a local address.
Otherwise, it is the name of the host through which packets
must be routed.
Flags
State of the route. For a complete list, refer to the
manual page for
route(ADMN).
Common states are:
C
cloning -- new routes are derived from this route
G
a route to a gateway
H
a route to a host
N
a route to a network
S
static
U
up
Refs
Current number of active connections using the route.
Connection-oriented protocols normally hold on to a single route
for the duration of the connection, while connectionless
protocols obtain a route, then discard it as needed.
Use
Current number of packets sent using this route.
Interface
Name of the physical network interface used to
begin the route.
If one or more of these routes are missing, you may see routing
errors when you try to contact other hosts. You can add routes
manually by using the
route add command. See
route(ADMN)
for more information.