Configuring Systems for a Network
When you install Solaris, network software is installed along with the operating system software. At installation time, certain IP configuration parameters are stored in appropriate files so that they can be read when the system boots.
The parameters that are supplied during network configuration are listed below.
IP address of the network interface for the system. Host name of the system. NIS, NIS+, or DNS domain name in which the system resides, if applicable. Default router address. Subnet mask.
Configuring a Host for Local Files Mode
Use the following steps to configure TCP/IP on a system that runs in local files mode. You may need to use this procedure if you add a new network interface to your system after the initial Solaris software installation.
Become superuser.
Type cd /etc and press Return.
Create a file named /etc/hostname.interface or /etc/hostname6.interface for each network interface.
The Solaris installation program creates this file automatically for the primary network interface. This file maps host names to interfaces for IPv4. For IPv6, you need one /etc/hostname. interface or /etc/hostname6.interface file for each system, for example, hostname.le0 or hostname6.le0.
Edit the /etc/hostname.interface or /etc/hostname6.interface file and type either the system's IP address or its host name.
NOTE. The Solaris installation program creates the default /etc/inet/hosts file for the local system. The old /etc/hosts name for this file is now a symbolic link to /etc/inet/hosts. If you are using IPv6, the installation program creates the default /etc/inet/ipnodes file.
Edit the /etc/inet/hosts file to add any IP addresses that you have assigned to any additional network interfaces in the local system along with the corresponding host name for each interface. If you are running IPv4, you do not need to create the /etc/inet/ipnodes file. If you have any IPv6 systems, copy all of the IPv4 IP addresses and host names from /etc/inet/hosts to the /etc/inet/ipnodes file. Add the IP addresses and host names for IPv6 systems only to the /etc/inet/ipnodes file.
NOTE. Put only the host name(s) and IP address(es) of network interfaces that are in each system in the /etc/inet/hosts file. DNS should handle all external host-name-to-IP-address mappings; you must, therefore, properly configure the /etc/nsswitch.conf and /etc/resolv.conf files to make this work. Follow this convention because you (as the system administrator) normally don't control the network or other systems on the network. If, for example, the owners of other systems or network equipment change their IP addresses or host names in DNS, the /etc/inet/hosts file on each of the systems under your control would then be out of date and each system's network configuration would mysteriously no longer work.
If the /usr file system is NFS mounted, also add the IP address or addresses of the file server to the /etc/inet/hosts file.
Edit the /etc/defaultrouter file and type the router's IP address.
This file should contain an entry for each router that is directly connected to the network. The entry should be the IP address of an interface on the router that is on the same subnet as the system you're configuring.
Edit the /etc/inet/hosts file and type the name of the default router and its IP addresses.
If the network is subnetted, edit the /etc/inet/netmasks file and type the network number and netmask.
If you have set up an NIS, NIS+, or LDAP server, you can type netmask information in the netmasks database on the server if server and clients are on the same network.
Reboot the system.
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