Passing Data Store Configuration Data

The Solaris DHCP data access architecture provides an optional feature for passing data-store-specific configuration data to the public module (and thus the data store). This feature is implemented as an ASCII string which is passed through the DHCP service management interface (dhcpconfig or dhcpmgr) and stored by the Framework Configuration Layer on the DHCP server machine. See the dhcpsvc.conf(4) man page for more information. You determine what kind of information is passed in the string, and the DHCP administrator provides the value of the string through the administration tool. The string might, for example, contain a user name and password needed to log in to a database.

To obtain the information from the DHCP administrator, you must write a JavaBeans™ component to present an appropriate dialog. The information is then passed to the management interface as a single ASCII string. You should document the format of the ASCII string token to facilitate debugging. To support this feature, the public module must implement and export the configure() function, described in Chapter 3, Service Provider Layer API.

The architecture does not encrypt the ASCII string. It is saved in clear text in the /etc/inet/dhcpsvc.conf file. If you require encrypted information, the bean must encrypt the information before passing it to the Framework Configuration Layer.