We can turn any process into a server in an incredibly simple manner using the powerful networking utility netcat. For example, we can make a shell a server:
(a computer with ip address 192.168.1.2) $ mkfifo fifo # create a named pipe $ cat fifo | sh -i 2>&1 | nc -l 1234 > fifo # server (on another window) $ nc localhost 1234 # client (or if you're on the same netwok from another computer) $ nc 192.168.1.2 1234 # client
Now let’s try to understand the above-highlighted line. Noting that a pipeline runs in parallel, cat fifo therefore outputs the content of fifo only when nc -l 1234 writes its output to the pipe fifo.
We know that when the client connects to the server via netcat, if the client types in anything, it will be output to the server; and vice versa. Hence, nc localhost 1234‘s input becomes nc -l 1234‘s output, and nc -l 1234‘s input becomes nc localhost 1234‘s output.
When the client types in something, say, the command ls, it also appears in the output of the server, which then is redirected to the pipe fifo, which in turn goes to cat fifo (read end comes the data). Then the output of cat fifo (“ls”) is redirected to as the input of sh -i 2>&1, which executes the command ls and sends the results to the server nc -l 1234 as its input, which finally as output appears in the client nc localhost 1234.
Isn’t it beautiful? Just setting a few pipes and redirections we can turn a process into a server. Pipes are really one of the greatest UNIX inventions. They make many incredible things possible.
See also using netcat as a proxy.