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Configuring TCP/IP Network Services and IPv4 Addressing (Tasks)
TCP/IP network administration evolves in two stages. The first stage is to assemble the hardware. Then, you configure the daemons, files, and services that implement the TCP/IP protocol.
This chapter explains how to configure TCP/IP on a network that implements IPv4 addressing and services.
Note - Many of the tasks in this chapter apply to both IPv4-only and IPv6-enabled networks. Where configuration tasks differ between the two addressing formats, the IPv4 configuration steps are in this chapter. The tasks in this chapter then cross reference the equivalent IPv6 tasks in Chapter 7, Enabling IPv6 on a Network (Tasks).
This chapter contains the following information:
What's New in This Chapter
In Solaris Express, Developer Edition 2/07 and subsequent releases, you can configure and manage routing through the Service Management Facility (SMF) as an alternative to using the routeadm command. For instructions, refer to the procedures and examples in Packet Forwarding and Routing on IPv4 Networksand the routeadm(1M) man page.
Before You Configure an IPv4 Network (Task Map)
Before you configure TCP/IP, complete the tasks that are listed in the following table.
Task | Description | For Instructions |
|---|---|---|
1. Design the network topology. | Determine the physical layout of the network. | |
2. Obtain a network number from your ISP or Regional Internet Registry (RIR). | Get a registered network number, which enables systems at your site to communicate externally. | |
3. Plan the IPv4 addressing scheme for the network. If applicable, include subnet addressing. | Use the network number as the basis for your addressing plan. | |
4. Assemble the network hardware depending on the network topology. Assure that the hardware is functioning properly. | Set up the systems, network media, routers, switches, hubs and bridges that you outlined in the network topology design. | The hardware manuals and Network Topology Overview. |
5. Assign IPv4 addresses and host names to all systems in the network. | Assign the IPv4 addresses during Solaris OS installation or post installation, in the appropriate files. | Designing Your IPv4 Addressing Scheme and How to Change the IPv4 Address and Other Network Configuration Parameters |
6. Run configuration software that is required by network interfaces and routers, if applicable. | Configure routers and multihomed hosts. | Planning for Routers on Your Network and Configuring an IPv4 Router for information on routers. |
7. Determine which name service or directory service your network uses: NIS, LDAP, DNS, or local files. | Configure your selected name service and/or directory service. | System Administration Guide: Naming and Directory Services (DNS, NIS, and LDAP). |
8. Select domain names for your network, if applicable. | Choose a domain name for your network and register it with the InterNIC. | System Administration Guide: Naming and Directory Services (DNS, NIS, and LDAP) |
Determining Host Configuration Modes
As a network administrator, you configure TCP/IP to run on hosts and routers (if applicable). You can configure these systems to obtain configuration information from files on the local system or from files that are located on other systems on the network. You need the following configuration information:
Host name of each system
IP address of each system
Domain name to which each system belongs
Default router
IPv4 netmask in use on each system's network
A system that obtains TCP/IP configuration information from local files operates in local files mode. A system that obtains TCP/IP configuration information from a remote network server operates in network client mode.
Systems That Should Run in Local Files Mode
To run in local files mode, a system must have local copies of the TCP/IP configuration files. These files are described in TCP/IP Configuration Files. The system should have its own disk, though this recommendation is not strictly necessary.
Most servers should run in local files mode. This requirement includes the following servers:
Network configuration servers
NFS servers
Name servers that supply NIS, LDAP, or DNS services
Mail servers
Additionally, routers should run in local files mode.
Systems that function exclusively as print servers do not need to run in local files mode. Whether individual hosts should run in local files mode depends on the size of your network.
If you are running a very small network, the amount of work that is involved in maintaining these files on individual hosts is manageable. If your network serves hundreds of hosts, the task becomes difficult, even with the network divided into a number of administrative subdomains. Thus, for large networks, using local files mode is usually less efficient. However, because routers and servers must be self-sufficient, they should be configured in local files mode.
Network Configuration Servers
Network configuration servers are the servers that supply the TCP/IP configuration information to hosts that are configured in network client mode. These servers support three booting protocols:
RARP - Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP) maps Ethernet addresses (48 bits) to IPv4 addresses (32 bits), which is the reverse of ARP. When you run RARP on a network configuration server, hosts that are running in network client mode obtain their IP addresses and TCP/IP configuration files from the server. The in.rarpd daemon enables RARP services. Refer to the in.rarpd(1M) man page for details.
TFTP - The Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) is an application that transfers files between remote systems. The in.tftpd daemon executes TFTP services, enabling file transfer between network configuration servers and their network clients. Refer to the in.tftpd(1M) man page for details.
Bootparams - The Bootparams protocol supplies parameters for booting that are required by clients that boot off the network. The rpc.bootparamd daemon executes these services. Refer to the bootparamd(1M) man page for details.
Network configuration servers can also function as NFS file servers.
If you are configuring any hosts as network clients, then you must also configure at least one system on your network as a network configuration server. If your network is subnetted, then you must have at least one network configuration server for each subnet with network clients.