Basic network configuration of a client system evolves in two stages: assembling the hardware and then configuring the daemons, files, and services that implement the network protocol stack. For more information about how the various networking components are configured within the network protocol stack, see Network Administration Within the Oracle Solaris Network Protocol Stack.
For an example of the information that is described in this section, see Basic Network Configuration Scenario.
The basic network configuration process typically involves the following tasks:
You first customize the physical datalinks on the system. Each datalink represents a link object in the second layer (L2) of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. In this release, generic names are automatically assigned to datalinks by using the net0, net1, netN naming convention. The name that is assigned to each datalink depends on the total number of network devices that are on that system. For more information, see Chapter 2, Administering Datalink Configuration in Oracle Solaris, in Configuring and Administering Network Components in Oracle Solaris 11.2 .
After you customize the datalinks on a system, you then configure IP interfaces and addresses over each datalink. This configuration takes place at the network layer (L3) of the OSI model. You obtain unique IP addresses to communicate to public networks on the Internet. See Chapter 3, Configuring and Administering IP Interfaces and Addresses in Oracle Solaris, in Configuring and Administering Network Components in Oracle Solaris 11.2 .
Oracle Solaris supports both IPv4 and IPv6 configuration. You can choose whether to deploy a purely IPv4 network, an IPv6 network, or a network that uses a combination of both types of IP addresses. Deploying an IPv4 or IPv6 network requires some advanced planning. For more information about deploying a physical network in an organized and cost-effective manner, see Planning for Network Deployment in Oracle Solaris 11.2 .
Naming services and other system-wide network settings are fundamental to any computing network. These services perform lookups of stored information such as host names and addresses, user names, passwords, access permissions, and so on. The information is made available so that users can log in to their host, access resources, and be granted permissions. Naming service information is centralized in the form of files, maps, and database files to make network administration more manageable. In this release, naming services are managed through the Service Management Facility (SMF). For more information about configuring system-wide network settings on an Oracle Solaris client, see Chapter 4, Administering Naming and Directory Services on an Oracle Solaris Client, in Configuring and Administering Network Components in Oracle Solaris 11.2 .
Network administration might also involve configuring systems that perform specific functions within your network, for example, routers, IP tunnels, and so on. For additional information, see Configuring an Oracle Solaris 11.2 System as a Router or a Load Balancer and Administering TCP/IP Networks, IPMP, and IP Tunnels in Oracle Solaris 11.2 .
Before beginning the task of configuring a client system on the network, see Information That Is Required to Configure Client Systems on the Network in Configuring and Administering Network Components in Oracle Solaris 11.2 .