How to Configure a Host for Local Files Mode

Use this procedure for configuring TCP/IP on a host that runs in local files mode.

1. Assume the Primary Administrator role, or become superuser

   The Primary Administrator role includes the Primary Administrator profile. To create the role and assign the role to a user, see Chapter 2, Working With the Solaris Management Console (Tasks), in System Administration Guide: Basic Administration.

2. Change to the /etc directory.

3. Verify that the correct host name is set in the /etc/nodename file.

   When you specify the host name of a system during Solaris installation, that host name is entered into the /etc/nodename file. Make sure that the node name entry is the correct host name for the system.

4. Verify that an /etc/hostname.interface file exists for each network interface on the system.

   For file syntax and basic information about the /etc/hostname.interface file, refer to Part I, Administering Single Interfaces, in System Administration Guide: Network Interfaces and Network Virtualization.

   The Solaris installation program requires you to configure at least one interface during installation. The first interface that you configure automatically becomes the primary network interface. The installation program creates an /etc/hostname.interface file for the primary network interface and any other interfaces that you optionally configure at installation time.

   If you configured additional interfaces during installation, verify that each interface has a corresponding /etc/hostname.interface file. You do not need to configure more than one interface during Solaris installation. However, if you later want to add more interfaces to the system, you must manually configure them.

   For steps for manually configuring interfaces, refer to How to Configure an IP Interface After System Installation in System Administration Guide: Network Interfaces and Network Virtualization.

5. Verify that the entries in the /etc/inet/hosts file are current.

   The Solaris installation program creates entries for the primary network interface, loopback address, and, if applicable, any additional interfaces that were configured during installation.

   1. Make sure that the existing entries in /etc/inet/hosts are current.

   2. (Optional) Add the IP addresses and corresponding names for any network interfaces that were added to the local host after installation.

   3. (Optional) Add the IP address or addresses of the file server, if the /usr file system is NFS mounted.

6. Type the host's fully qualified domain name in the /etc/defaultdomain file.

   For example, suppose host tenere was part of the domain deserts.worldwide.com. Therefore, you would type deserts.worldwide.com in /etc/defaultdomain. See /etc/defaultdomain File for more information.

7. Type the router's name in the /etc/defaultrouter file.

   See /etc/defaultrouter File for information about this file.

8. Type the name of the default router and its IP addresses in the /etc/inet/hosts file.

   Additional routing options are available, as discussed in How to Configure Hosts for Network Client Mode. You can apply these options to a local files mode configuration.

9. Add the network mask for your network, if applicable:

   • If the host gets its IP address from a DHCP server, you do not have to specify the network mask.

   • If you have set up a NIS server on the same network as this client, you can add netmask information into the appropriate database on the server.

   • For all other conditions, do the following:

   1. Type the network number and the netmask in the /etc/inet/netmasks file.

      Use the following format:

      network-number netmask

      For example, for the Class C network number 192.168.83, you would type:

      192.168.83.0 255.255.255.0

      For CIDR addresses, convert the network prefix into the equivalent dotted decimal representation. Network prefixes and their dotted decimal equivalents can be found in Table 2–3. For example, use the following to express the CIDR network prefix 192.168.3.0/22.

      192.168.3.0 255.255.252.0

   2. Change the lookup order for netmasks in /etc/nsswitch.conf, so that local files are searched first:

      netmasks: files nis

10. Reboot the system.