PAWSERV(8)

📦 version 2025.09.18.4, in nixos 26.05, nixpkgs unstable

🌸 PAWSERV(8) — like, the manual page, bestie 🌸

okay so you opened pawserv(8) from the System Manager's Manual and you're probably like "what is this and why does it sound like a pet name for a server" — don't worry, I got you 💖

✨ NAME ✨

pawserv — the CERNLIB program that serves up PAW histograms remotely, no cap 🎀

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

So pawserv is literally the server for distributed PAW. It sits there listening for connections on port 345 like a main character waiting for her group chat to light up 💅

Real talk though: pawserv is not in general run from the command line — it's only ever launched via inetd(8). That's its whole vibe, it does not do solo runs 🙈

On the PAW client side, you kick off a remote PAW session with the RLOGIN hostname command. That's the move 👑

Distributed PAW is documented fully in chapter 8 of the PAW user's guide, which is available in PostScript format at this URL:

http://wwwinfo.cern.ch/asdoc/psdir/paw.ps.gz
⚠️ okay bestie, serious moment ⚠️ — please note that pawserv receives unencrypted passwords over the network. Like, plaintext. Out in the open. It should therefore be used only within a trusted LAN. Do not be out here sending your creds across the whole internet, I am begging 😭🔒

🎀 FILES 🎀

  • /etc/inetd.conf — this is the file that specifies how inetd should call pawserv 🗂️

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

pawserv is part of the CERNLIB CSPACK package, which is documented at:

http://wwwinfo.cern.ch/asdoc/psdir/cspack.ps.gz

(that one's PostScript, iykyk)

or, if you prefer HTML:

http://wwwinfo.cern.ch/asdoc/WWW/cspack/cspmain/cspmain.html

👑 AUTHOR 👑

This manual page was written by Kevin McCarty <kmccarty@debian.org> for the Debian GNU/Linux system — but may be used by others 🫶 (yes, sharing is caring, we love that for him).

okay that's the whole thing, you're officially educated 💜 and yes — this page is from February 3, 2003, filed under the System Manager's Manual section, so it's giving vintage icon energy 🕰️✨ go forth and only run it on a trusted LAN, mwah 💋

📦 where this page comes from