OpenSolaris™ Bible

Chapter 9. Networking

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Network interfaces

• Network Auto-Magic (NWAM)

• IP multipathing

• Link aggregation

• DNS, DHCP, and NTP

• inetd

• Routing

• Firewalls

• Network troubleshooting

In the last twenty years, the Internet has become the predominant application for computer systems, whether providing services such as a website, or consuming them, such as a client system running a web browser. Indeed, Sun's venerable slogan, "The Network Is the Computer," well expresses how vital networking capability has become in computing. As a result, all modern operating systems include a TCP/IP protocol stack and standard networking services that enable users to construct their own branch local area networks, aggregate them into organization-wide wide area networks, and connect to the global Internet. This chapter tackles the major networking features included in OpenSolaris.

Note

This chapter assumes that you have a basic knowledge of Internet networking, such as the format of an IP address. If you're not an experienced Internet user already, you might find it helpful to consult an introductory text or article, such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Address, that explains the basic concepts.

Network Interfaces

To communicate over a network, the first thing you need is a connection to it. As on other UNIX-like systems, OpenSolaris models a connection to the network as a network interface.

Note

Historically, a network interface was provided as a separate printed-circuit board to be installed into a computer. ...