IPv4 Test Addresses

The in.mpathd multipathing daemon requires a test IP address for detecting failures and repairs. You must use a routeable address for this IP address. The subnet prefix of the address must be known to any routers present on the link. You use the ifconfig command's new -failover option to configure a test address. Use the following syntax to configure a test address:

# ifconfig interface-name addif ip-address <other-parameters> -failover up

For <other-parameters>, use the parameters that are required by your configuration. See the ifconfig(1M) man page for descriptions. How to Configure a Multipathing Interface Group With Two Interfaces shows the steps that you perform for an IPv4 test address.

For example, if you wanted to do the following configuration:

• Add a new logical interface with an address of 19.16.85.21

• Have the netmask and broadcast address set to the default value

• Configure the interface with a test address

Type the following command:

# ifconfig hme0 addif 19.16.85.21 netmask + broadcast + -failover up

You must mark an IPv4 test address as deprecated to prevent applications from using the test address. See How to Configure a Multipathing Interface Group With Two Interfaces.

Use failover without the dash to turn on the failover attribute of the address.

All test IP addresses in a multipathing group must use the same network prefix. The test IP addresses must belong to a single IP subnet.