/etc/hostname.interface File

This file defines the network interfaces on the local host for IPv4. At least one /etc/hostname.interface file should exist on the local machine. The Solaris installation program creates this file for you. In the file name, interface is replaced by the device name of the primary network interface.

If you add a new network interface to your system after the initial Solaris software installation, you must create an /etc/hostname.interface file for that interface, add the interface's IP address to the /etc/inet/hosts file, and reboot the system with the -r option. See substeps within "How to Configure a Host for Local Files Mode" for instructions. Also, in order for the Solaris software to recognize and use the new network interface, you need to load the interface's device driver into the appropriate directory. Refer to the documentation that comes with the new network interface for the appropriate interface name and device driver instructions.

The file contains only one entry: the host name or IPv4 address associated with the network interface. For example, suppose smc0 is the primary network interface for a machine called tenere. Its /etc/hostname.interface file would have the name /etc/hostname.smc0; the file would contain the entry tenere.

Files for Multiple Network Interfaces

If a machine contains more than one network interface, you must create additional /etc/hostname.interface files for the additional network interfaces. You must create these files with a text editor; the Solaris installation program does not create them for you.

For example, consider the machine timbuktu, shown in Figure 6-1. It has two network interfaces and functions as a router. The primary network interface le0 is connected to network 192.9.200. Its IP address is 192.9.200.70, and its host name is timbuktu. The Solaris installation program creates the file /etc/hostname.le0 for the primary network interface and enters the host name timbuktu in the file.

The second network interface is le1; it is connected to network 192.9.201. Although this interface is physically installed on machine timbuktu, it must have a separate IPv4 address. Therefore, you have to manually create the /etc/hostname.le1 file for this interface; the entry in the file would be the router`s name, timbuktu-201.