IP networking in a zone can be configured in two different ways, depending on whether the non-global zone is given its own exclusive IP instance or shares the IP layer configuration and state with the global zone. By default, zones are created with the exclusive-IP type. Through the zonecfg anet resource, a virtual network (VNIC) is automatically included in the zone configuration if networking configuration is not specified.
Exclusive-IP zones are assigned zero or more VNIC interface names, and for those network interfaces they can send and receive any packets, snoop, and change the IP configuration, including IP addresses and the routing table. Note that those changes do not affect any of the other IP instances on the system.
For complete information on the zonecfg command and networking in zones, see Oracle Solaris Zones Configuration Resources.