The statement hosts: files dns is valid in the file /etc/nsswitch.conf. It means that the system will use the local /etc/hosts file and the Domain Name System (DNS) to resolve host names to IP addresses. The order of the sources on the line determines the order in which they will be queried. In this case, the system will first check the /etc/hosts file for a matching host name, and if not found, it will query the DNS servers configured in /etc/resolv.conf. The other statements in the question are not valid in the /etc/nsswitch.conf file. The statement multi on is not a valid keyword or source for any database. The statement 192.168.168.4 dns-server is not a valid syntax for specifying a source or an action. The statement include /etc/nsswitch.d/ is not a valid way to include another file or directory in the /etc/nsswitch.conf file. Reference: [LPI Linux Administrator - Exam 102 Objectives - Topic 109: Networking Fundamentals] nsswitch.conf(5) - Linux manual page What is the /etc/nsswitch.conf file in Linux - TecAdmin