Identify Logical and Physical Network Interface Names

When you are configuring an operating system for a networked server, you might need to provide the logical name (assigned by the OS) and the physical name (MAC address) of each network interface. This topic shows you how to get this information.

Use this procedure to display information about MAC addresses and network interfaces, including their logical and physical names (MAC addresses).

1. In the Install Type menu, select Option (6) Single User Shell and press Enter.

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   Note - Alternatively, you can run these commands from a command shell.

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   If a message appears about mounting an OS instance, select q. You should not mount any OS instance.

   The message "Starting Shell" appears. See the following figure.

   
   
2. At the command prompt (#), type the following command to plumb all network interfaces.

   # ifconfig -a plumb

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   Note - The plumb process might take some time.

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3. At the command prompt, type the following command.

   # ifconfig -a

   The output of Solaris named interfaces and MAC addresses appears. For example:

   
   

   In the sample output above:

   • The el000g# entry in the first column refers to the Solaris logical named interface. This first column in the output identifies the logical names assigned by Solaris to the network interfaces.

   • The ether #:#:#:#:#:# entry in second column (third row) refers to the physical MAC address name of the network port.

     For example:

     The physical MAC address for the Solaris named network interface is e1000g0 is 0:14:4f:c:a1:ee.

4. Save this information to a file, or write it down.
5. When you are done, to start the system configuration script, type sys-unconfig(1M) at the command line.

   This command restores the system configuration to the factory defaults.

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   Caution - The sys-unconfig(1M) command halts the system and restores the factory settings. Do not run this command unless you are ready to reconfigure your system.

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   For example:

   # sys-unconfig
   WARNING
   This program will unconfigure your system.  It will cause it
   to revert to a "blank" system - it will not have a name or know 
   about other systems or networks.
   This program will also halt the system.
   Do you want to continue (y/n) ?

   The system reboots and the configuration script starts.