---
name: "auserver"
section: "1x"
platform: "linux"
package: "nas"
version: "1.2p5-3"
release: "Debian 2.0 (Hamm)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/auserver/1x"
---

# auserver(1x)

Network Audio System server

## NAME

auserver - Network Audio System server

## SYNOPSIS

**au** \[:listen port offset\] \[-option ...\]

## DESCRIPTION

*au* is the generic name for the Network Audio System server.  It is frequently a link or a copy of the appropriate server binary for driving the most frequently used server on a given machine.

## STARTING THE SERVER

The server is usually started from /etc/rc or a user's startup script.

When the Network Audio System server starts up, it takes over /dev/audio.  Note that applications that attempt to access /dev/audio themselves will fail while it is running.

## NETWORK CONNECTIONS

The Network Audio System server supports connections made using the following reliable byte-streams:

- *TCPIP*

  The server listens on port 8000+*n*, where *n* is the listen  port offset.

- *Unix Domain*

  The X server uses */tmp/.sockets/audio***n** as the filename for  the socket, where *n* is the display number.

## OPTIONS

All of the Network Audio System servers accept the following command line options:

- **-aa**

  Allows clients on any host to connect.  By default, access is allowed only to clients on the local host.

## SIGNALS

The Network Audio System server attaches special meaning to the following signals:

- *SIGHUP*

  This signal causes the server to close all existing connections, free all resources, and restore all defaults.

- *SIGTERM*

  This signal causes the server to exit cleanly.

- *SIGUSR1*

  This signal is used quite differently from either of the above.  When the server starts, it checks to see if it has inherited SIGUSR1 as SIG\_IGN instead of the usual SIG\_DFL.  In this case, the server sends a SIGUSR1 to its parent process after it has set up the various connection schemes.

## DIAGNOSTICS

Too numerous to list them all. If run from *[init(8)](/init/8.md)*, errors are typically logged in the file */usr/adm/audio\*msgs*,

## FILES

- /tmp/.sockets/audio\*

  Unix domain socket

- /usr/adm/audio\*msgs

  - /dev/audio

  Audio device

## SEE ALSO

nas(1), auinfo(1), auplay(1), auctl(1)

## BUGS

If *au* dies before its clients, new clients won't be able to connect until all existing connections have their TCP TIME\_WAIT timers expire.

The current access control support is weak at best.

## COPYRIGHT

Copyright 1993, Network Computing Devices, Inc.\

## AUTHORS

The Network Audio System server was written by Greg Renda and Dave Lemke, with large amounts of code borrowed from the sample X server.

The sample X server was originally written by Susan Angebranndt, Raymond Drewry, Philip Karlton, and Todd Newman, from Digital Equipment Corporation, with support from a large cast.  It has since been extensively rewritten by Keith Packard and Bob Scheifler, from MIT.