How to Configure the Network Host Files

This section describes how to configure the network host files after you install the hxge driver on your system.

1. At the command line, use the grep command to search the /etc/path_to_inst file for hxge interfaces.

   # grep hxge /etc/path_to_inst
   "/pci@7c,0/pci10de,5d@e/pci108e,aaaa@0" 0 "hxge"

   In this example, the device instance is from a Sun Blade 6000 Virtualized Multi-Fabric 10GbE Network Express Module installed in the chassis. The instance number is shown in italics in this example.

2. Set up the NEM’s hxge interface.

   Use the ifconfig command to assign an IP address to the network interface. Type the following at the command line, replacing ip-address with the NEM’s IP address:

   # ifconfig hxge0 plumb ip-address netmask netmask-address broadcast + up

   Refer to the ifconfig(1M) man page and the Solaris documentation for more information.

3. (Optional) For a setup that remains the same after you reboot, create an /etc/hostname.hxgenumber file, where number is the instance number of the hxge interface you plan to use.

   To use the NEM’s hxge interface in the Step 1 example, create an /etc/hostname.hxgex file, where x is the number of the hxge interface. If the instance number were 1, the filename would be /etc/hostname.hxge1.

   Follow these guidelines for the host name:

   • The /etc/hostname.hxgenumber file must contain the host name for the appropriate hxge interface.
   • The host name must be different from the host name of any other interface. For example: /etc/hostname.hxge0 and /etc/hostname.hxge1 cannot share the same host name.
   • The host name must have an IP address listed in the /etc/hosts file.

     The following example shows the /etc/hostname.hxgenumber file required for a system named zardoz-c10-bl1.

     # cat /etc/hostname.hxge0
     zardoz-c10-bl1

4. Create an appropriate entry in the /etc/hosts file for each active hxge interface.

   For example:

   # cat /etc/hosts
   #
   # Internet host table
   #
   127.0.0.1     localhost
   129.168.1.29 zardoz-c10-bl1