Common TCP/IP Context-Sensitive Helps

The context-sensitive helps in this file are used by both SMIT and Web-based System Manager.

Select a network interface. A network interface is used to make a logical connection between computers on a network. Abbreviations for interface types are "en" for Standard Ethernet, "et" for IEEE 802.3 Ethernet, "tr" for Token-Ring, "sl" for Serial Line IP (SLIP), "fi" for FDDI, "at" for ATM, "cti" for Configured Tunnel Interface, and "vi" for Virtual Interface. A numeral after an abbreviation identifies a specific interface. If you select "any," the system will choose an available network interface to use.


Select options for DHCP to act upon. The primary option is what host name you would like this interface to be called. The site class identifier and vendor class identifier options are also commonly used. If the network administrator has configured classes, you will see additional options. All selections are optional.


Specify the host name you want to assign to the current machine. Enter the host name in the following format:

host name

When specifying the host name, use ASCII characters, preferably alpha-numeric only. Do not use a period in the host name. Avoid using hexadecimal or decimal values as the first character (for example "3Comm," where "3C" might be interpreted as a hexadecimal character). The unqualified host name should be less than 32 characters, for compatibility with older hosts.

If the host uses a domain name server for name resolution, the host name must contain the full domain name.

In the hierarchical domain naming system, names consist of a sequence of case-insensitive subnames separated by periods with no embedded blanks. The DOMAIN protocol specifies that a local domain name must be less than 64 characters, and that a host name must be less than 32 characters in length. The host name is given first. Optionally, the full domain name can be specified; the host name is followed by a period, a series of local domain names separated by periods, and finally by the root domain. A fully specified domain name for a host, including periods, must be fewer than 255 characters in length and in the following form:

host.subdomain.subdomain.rootdomain

In a hierarchical network, certain hosts are designated as name servers that resolve names into Internet addresses for other hosts. This arrangement has two advantages over the flat name space: resources of each host on the network are not tied up in resolving names, and the person who manages the system does not need to maintain name resolution files on each machine on the network. The set of names managed by a single name server is known as its zone of authority.


Specify the subnet mask, which identifies the subnet partitioning scheme to the system. This bit mask consists of the Network Address portion and Subnet Address portion of the Internet address.

The subnet mask is a set of 4 bytes, like the internetwork address. The subnet mask consists of high bits (1s) corresponding to the bit positions of the network and subnetwork address, and low bits (0s) corresponding to the bit positions of the host address.

Subnet addressing allows an autonomous system made up of multiple networks to share the same Internet address. The subnetwork capability of TCP/IP also makes it possible to divide a single network into multiple logical networks (subnets). For example, an organization can have a single Internet network address that is known to users outside the organization, yet configure its network internally into departmental subnets. In either case, fewer Internet network addresses are required, and local routing capabilities are enhanced.


Specify the gateway address, which names the gateway to which packets are addressed. This address indicates the next gateway in the path; further gateways may be involved in delivering the packet. Gateway addresses can be specified in dotted decimal form (101.64.2.1) or in symbolic name form (joe.austin.century.com).


Specify the domain name for the current host. The format for the domain is:

subdomain.subdomain.rootdomain

For example, austin.century.com.


Specify the Virtual Connection type to be configured for this network interface. Choose one of the following options:

pvc -- Only Permanent Virtual Connections are supported on this interface.

svc_s -- The ARP server on the Switched Virtual Connection type.

svc_c -- The ARP client on the Switched Virtual Connection type. You must specify the ATM 20-byte address of the client's designated ARP server in the ATM Server Address field.

If you specify the svc_s or svc_c connection type, you still can establish permanent connections by setting the hardware switch.


Specify the 20-byte ATM address of the designated ARP server for this Logical IP Subnet (LIS) in hexadecimal numbers, using a period as the delimiter between bytes. You can omit the leading zero of each byte. For example, 0.1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.a.b.c.d.e.f.10.11.12.13 is a valid address.

Normally, the server's ATM address can be obtained from the server after the server is registered with the switch.

You can enter a list of ARP server addresses with a comma as a delimiter. The first entry is considered to be the Primary ARP server. Others are considered to be Secondary ARP servers.


Specify the device name, atm0 or atm1, associated with this interface. If you are configuring multiple interfaces on a single device, you must enter a value in this field. If you are configuring only one interface on a device, this field is optional. By default, the at0 interface is on the atm0 device and the at1 interface is on the atm1 device.


Specify a decimal number representing the minutes allowed on a temporary virtual connection on this network interface before the connection is invalidated.


Specify the bit rate for the Best Effort connections that are initiated from the configuring interface. This network interface supports the Classical IP over ATM connections. All of the outgoing SVC connections will be set as Best Effort connections with the specified bit rate as the forward and backward peak rate. When this attribute is 0 (by default), the network interface uses the peak rate supported by the associated device as the Best Effort bit rate. Specify a decimal integer in K bits per second. For example, the value 155000 represents 155M bits per second.


Specify the VPI (virtual path identifier) and the VCI (virtual connection identifier) for the PVC. This pair of decimal integers must be separated by a : (colon) character (for example, 0:20). The VCI number is limited by the maximum number of virtual connections supported by the device. Some well-defined VPI:VCI numbers (for example, 0:5 and 0:16) are reserved by the SVC (Switched Virtual Connection) environment. Do not use these reserved VPI:VCI numbers for the PVCs you define.


Specify whether LLC/SNAP encapsulation is supported on this PVC. The default value is yes. If the remote host does not support LLC/SNAP encapsulation on this PVC, you can specify no to ensure compatibility.

Note: Without LLC/SNAP encapsulation support, the ATM ARP protocol cannot be supported, and the Destination IP address of this PVC must be defined.


Specify the IP address of the destination host for this PVC. The address format is the standard IP address format, 4-bytes, each byte separated by a period. This field is optional because the ATM network interface can obtain the remote IP address by using the INverseARP protocol. If you want the network interface to obtain the remote IP address for the PVC connection, do not enter a value in this field. If you do not enter a value in this field, you must define the network interface and ensure that both sides of the PVC connection support the ATM ARP protocol and LLC/SNAP encapsulation.


Specify a name or description for the PVC that you are defining. Because the network interface does not use this description, specifying a value for the field is optional.


Specify whether the ATM ARP protocol will be supported on this PVC. The default value is yes. If the remote host does not support the ATM ARP protocol on this PVC, you can specify no to ensure compatibility. If you specify no, you must define the Destination IP address for this PVC.


Provides a list of all static routes set up for a host. Output is in the following format:

Destination    Gateway    Flags    Refcnt    Use    Interface 
default        bcroom      UG        1       100        tr0 
192.100.2      awk         UG        0         0        tr1 
160.9          160.9.2.1   UG        0         0        et0 

Each static route is on a separate line.

Output fields:

"Destination" indicates the internet address of the destination point for the route.

"Gateway" specifies the address or the name, if available, of the outgoing interface.

"Flags" indicates the state of the route. The flags mean the following:

 U = Up.
 G = The route is to a gateway.
 H = The route is to a host rather than to a network.
 D = The route was created dynamically by a redirect.
 M = The route has been modified by a redirect.

"Refs" gives the current number of active uses for the route. Connection-oriented protocols hold on to a single route for the duration of a connection. Connectionless protocols obtain a route while sending to the same destination.

"Use" provides a count of the number of packets sent using a specific route.

"Interface" indicates the network interface utilized for a specific route.


Specify a destination, which is the end point of a packet transmission path. The two types of destinations are "net" or "host". The net destination refers to a network. The host destination refers to a specific machine on a network.


Specify the destination address for a route to name the host or network to which you are directing the route. Destination addresses can be specified in dotted decimal form (101.64.2.1) or symbolic name form (joe.austin.century.com).


Removes a route from the kernel routing tables.


Specify the network mask or subnet mask that identifies the subnet partitioning scheme. This bit mask consists of the Network Address portion and Subnet Address portion of the Internet address.

The subnet mask is a set of 4 bytes, like the internet address. The subnet mask consists of high bits (1s) corresponding to the bit positions of the network and subnetwork address, and low bits (0s) corresponding to the bit positions of the host address.

For a host route, the netmask is implicit and is 255.255.255.255. For a network route, when the netmask is not explicitly specified, it is based on the number of bytes specified in the destination IP. For example, if the destination is:

192.168.2.1 --Implied Netmask-- 255.255.255.255 (equivalent to host route)

192.168.2.0 --Implied Netmask-- 255.255.255.0

192.168.0.0 --Implied Netmask-- 255.255.0.0

192.0.0.0 --Implied Netmask-- 255.0.0.0


Specify the metric, which is the number of hops to the destination gateway for a route. A value of zero indicates the destination is on the source network and that the gateway is the default gateway. A metric value of 16 indicates an infinite number of hops.


Creates or restores the /etc/resolv.conf file. If you create a new /etc/resolv.conf file, you can add entries for name server and domain.


Adds a name server to the end of the /etc/resolv.conf file. The system tries to use name servers in the order they are presented in the file.


Displays all name servers. The following is sample output.

nameserver          129.35.17.2
nameserver          129.35.17.200

Deletes a name server entry from the /etc/resolv.conf file.


Specify the domain name for the domain entry. The format for the domain name is:

subdomain.subdomain.rootdomain

For example, austin.century.com.


Removes the domain entry from the /etc/resolv.conf file.


Displays all host entries in the /etc/hosts file. The following is a line of sample output.

129.35.17.176             joe.aus.century.com joe joseph

The host name column includes any aliases for that host.


Specify the host name you want to associate with this address. A host name can contain up to 255 characters, and must not include blank characters.


Specify aliases or additional host names for the IP address. Separate each additional host name with blanks (that is, alpha bravo charlie).


Specify comments associated with the host name.


Specify the host name to associate with this interface.


Specify the domain name to use for defining your system's fully qualified domain name.


Specify an ASCII string that can be used to retrieve options that the network administrator configured for a site class.


Specify a value to identify the client. If you do not specify a value, the DHCP client daemon will choose a value based on the MAC address of the adapter or the host name for the interface.


Specify the IP address that you would like to get. If you specify an address that the server does not recognize as available, you will get another address.


Specify the length of time that you will be holding the lease before you must renew it.


Specify a string to indicate to the server what vendor-specific information is required. A common value is "" .


Specify a space-delimited list of IP addresses for the name servers that should be used.


Specify a space-delimited list of IP addresses for the domain name servers that should be used.


Specify a space-delimited list of IP addresses for the timer servers that should be used.


Specify a space-delimited list of IP addresses for the log servers that should be used.


Specify a space-delimited list of IP addresses for the cookie servers that should be used.


Specify a space-delimited list of IP addresses for the LPR servers that should be used.


Specify a space-delimited list of IP addresses for the Impress servers that should be used.


Specify a space-delimited list of IP addresses for the Resource Location servers that should be used.


Specify the IP address for the swap server that should be used. This information is optional.


Specify a space-delimited list of IP addresses for the NTP servers that should be used.


Specify a space-delimited list of IP addresses for the routers that should be used.


Specify the address for router solicitations.


Specify a space-delimited list of IP pairs. Each IP pair represents a static route and must contain two IP addresses separated by a colon.


Specify a space-delimited list of IP address pairs. Each IP address in a pair is separated by a colon. This information is optional.


Specify whether this host should do router discovery.


Specify enabled or disabled IP forwarding.


Specify enabled or disabled non-local source routing.


Specify the default time in seconds for the TCP time-to-live value.


Specify the TCP keepalive interval, in seconds.


Specify a time offset that will be used in some TCP/IP applications.


Specify the TCP keepalive garbage value. This information is optional.


Specify the maximum datagram reassembly size.


Specify the default IP time-to-live value in seconds.


Specify whether this host should be a mask supplier.


Specify whether mask discovery should be performed.


Specify whether trailer encapsulation should be used.


Specify whether Ethernet encapsulation should be used.


Specify the ARP cache timeout value.


Specify the Path MTU aging timeout in seconds.


Specify the space-delimited list of 16-bit numbers. This information is optional.


Specify the MTU size (in bytes) used by this interface.


Specify whether all subnets are connected directly to your system through your system's local interfaces.


Specify the space-delimited list of IP addresses for NetBIOS over TCP/IP Name Servers.


Specify the space-delimited list of IP addresses for NetBIOS over TCP/IP Datagram Distribution Servers.


Specify the ASCII value specifying the NetBIOS over TCP/IP Scope.


Specify the numeric value specifying the NetBIOS over TCP/IP Node Type.


Specify the space-delimited list of IP addresses for X Window System Font Servers.


Specify the space-delimited list of IP addresses for X Window System Displays.


Specify the NIS domain string.


Specify the space-delimited list of IP addresses for the NIS servers that should be used.


Specify the size of the boot file. The server usually supplies this value if it is required by the client.


Specify the path to the merit dump file. This information is optional.


Specify the root path. This information is optional.


Specify the extensions path. This information is optional.


Adds a new network interface to the list of network interfaces. Select the type of interface you want to set up from the list of interface types.


Customizes the characteristics of a network interface. The characteristics are automatically loaded at each system restart, using values that are currently set in the configuration database.


Specify the interface for this Internet address if the host uses multiple network interfaces. Abbreviations for the interfaces include: "en" for Standard Ethernet, "et" for IEEE 802.3 Ethernet, "tr" for Token-Ring, "sl" for Serial Line IP, or "at" for ATM. Include a numeral after the abbreviation to identify the specific interface. Entries should be in the following form:

If the host uses multiple network interfaces, specify:

tr0

The chgif command, which is called by the chdev command (used for changing interfaces), checks to see if the /usr directory is remotely mounted before changing network interface information. If the /usr directory is remotely mounted, any changes made to the network interfaces occur only in the Object Data Manager (ODM) information database. To make the network interface changes take effect, either restart the machine or use the ifconfig command to change the network interface information.

If you restart the system, the new information is read from the ODM database. If you do not want to restart the system, use the ifconfig command to make the network interface information take place immediately. The system administrator of a system with a remotely mounted /usr directory should be very careful not to modify the interface, because the libraries, commands, and kernel reside in the /usr directory.


Use the network mask, if applicable, to specify how much of the network interface address to reserve for subdividing networks into subnetworks.

The network mask includes both the network part of the local address and the subnet part, which is taken from the host field of the address. The mask contains 1s (ones) for the bit positions in the 32-bit address that are reserved for the network and subnet parts, and 0s (zeros) for the bit positions that specify the host. The mask should contain at least the standard network portion, and the subnet segment should be contiguous with the network segment. Specify the network mask in dotted decimal form (255.255.0.0) or hexadecimal form with the prefix "0x" (0xffff000).


Specify the address to use to represent broadcasts to the network in dotted decimal form (101.164.1.1).


If you use ARP, the system will use the Address Resolution Protocol in mapping between network-level addresses and link-level addresses.


Specify whether the interface is to be activated after it is created. If the interface is not activated, any attempts to transmit messages through that interface will fail.


Specifies the cable type for your Standard Ethernet or IEEE 802.3 Ethernet interface: "bnc" indicates thin cable and "dix" indicates thick cable.


Specifies whether the interface is active. When an interface is marked as down (inactive), any attempts to transmit messages through that interface will fail. The interface can be reset to disable reception as well. This action does not automatically disable routes using the interface.


Specify whether the broadcast is local. If you broadcast locally, broadcasting will be performed only to machines on the same ring. If you broadcast to all, broadcasting will be performed for all machines on the network, whether or not they are on the same ring.


Specify whether to enable the hardware loopback mode. If so, you should specify that locally addressed packets that are handled by an interface should be sent out its associated adapter.


Specifies the ring speed of the token-ring network interface. This attribute should match the speed at which the network is currently running or be set to autosense on a token ring adapter that supports autosensing of the ring speed. An incorrect value can cause the network to become inoperable. Valid values are 4 for a 4Mbps ring, 16 for a 16Mbps ring or autosense (only on some token ring adapters). The default value is 4 for adapters that do not support autosensing and autosense on adapters that support autosensing.


Specify the Internet address of the destination host in the asynchronous communication.


Specify the instance number of this TTY. For example, for tty1, enter the number 1.


Specify the baud rate to be used for this serial line IP connection.


Specify the string used to call up the destination for this serial line IP connection.


Specify the maximum IP packet size. Valid ranges for maximum IP packet size for each network interface driver are:

Ethernet: 60 through 1500

802.3: 60 through 1492

Token-Ring: 60 through 4056

Serial Optical: 1 through 61428

SLIP: 60 through 4096.


Specify the network interface associated with this PVC (for example, at0). If you defined the Destination IP address for the PVC, this field is optional.


Allows you to view and configure IPv6 static routes, IPv6 network interfaces, and IPv6 daemon processes.


A route can define a path for sending packets through the Internet network to an address on another network, or it can define the path segment from one host to a gateway that can forward packets to a destination or from one gateway to another.

A static route is a path that is set up and maintained manually. Whenever a route is changed or added, the routing table must be manually updated. You can update the IPv6 routing table.


Sets up a new IPv6 static route entry to add to the kernel routing tables. You can specify whether to clear the routing table before adding the new route.


Removes an IPv6 route from the kernel routing tables.


At each system startup, the system automatically configures the network interface device drivers and software based upon the information in the ODM database. The IPv6 address must be set for each interface that is configured. IPv6 Aliases and IPv6 in IPv4 tunnels can also be configured.


Allows you to view and set up configuration values for the autoconf6 process, the ndpd-host daemon, and the inetd daemon.


The autoconf6 process is used at boot time to assign addresses to network interfaces and add some needed routes. The autoconf6 process must be used after configuration of IPv4 and before any IPv6 action.


Specifies when to start the autoconf6 process.


Makes necessary changes to the system so the autoconf6 process will not start up at boot time.


Allows you to view and change the restart characteristics of the autoconf6 process.


The ndpd-host daemon manages the NDP (Neighbor Discovery Protocol) for non-kernel activities: Router Discovery, Prefix Discovery, Parameter Discovery and Redirects. The ndpd-host daemon deals with defaults for the route, including default router, interface and interface address.


Specifies when to start the ndpd-host subsystem.


Specifies when to stop the ndpd-host subsystem.


Allows you to add a new IPv6 network interface to the list of network interfaces. Select the type of interface you want to set up from the list of available interfaces.


Adds a new IPv6 alias to an existing IPv6 network interface. Select the type of interface you want to set up from the list of available interfaces.


Removes an IPv6 alias from an existing IPv6 network interface. Displays a list of network interfaces.


Adds a new IPv6 standard Ethernet network interface for the current host.


Adds a new IPv6 IEEE 802.3 interface for the current host.


Adds a new IPv6 Token-Ring network interface for the current host.


Customizes the characteristics of an IPv6 network interface. The characteristics are automatically loaded at each system restart using values that are currently set in the configuration database.


Adds a new IPv6 FDDI network interface for the current host.


If you start the autoconf6 process with SIT off, the SIT interface and IPv4-compatible parameters are not installed.


An IPv6 address is an 128-bit address represented as 8 16-bit integers separated by colons. Each integer is represented by 4 hex digits. Leading zeros can be skipped, and consecutive null 16-bit integers can be replaced by two colons (one time per address). Some examples are:

fe80:abcd:0000:0000:0000:0000:0260:8c2e:00a4
fe80:abcd:0:0:0:0:260:8c2e:a4
fe80:abcd::260:8c2e:a4

Number of high-order bits used by routing protocols. The prefix is usually denoted following the IPv6 address and a slash mark ('/').

For example, the notation ff12::/16 describes a 16-bit prefix whose value is 1111111100010010.


Names the host or network to which you are directing a route. IPv6 destination addresses can be specified in colon separated form (fe80::260:8c2e:a4) or symbolic name form (joe.austin.century.com).


Names the host or network to which you are directing a route. IPv6 destination addresses can be specified in colon separated form (fe80::260:8c2e:a4) or symbolic name form (joe.austin.century.com).


Names the IPv6 gateway to which packets are addressed. This address indicates the next IPv6 gateway in the path; subsequent gateways may be involved in delivering the packet. IPv6 gateway addresses can be specified in colon-separated form (fe80::260:8c2e:a4) or symbolic name form (joe.austin.century.com).


Customizes the characteristics of an IPv6 Standard Ethernet network interface. The characteristics are automatically loaded at each system restart using values that are currently set in the configuration database.


Customizes the characteristics of an IPv6 IEEE 802.3 network interface. The characteristics are automatically loaded at each system restart using values that are currently set in the configuration database.


Customizes the characteristics of an IPv6 Token-Ring network interface. The characteristics are automatically loaded at each system restart using values that are currently set in the configuration database.


Customizes the characteristics of an IPv6 FDDI network interface. The characteristics are automatically loaded at each system restart using values that are currently set in the configuration database.


Allows you to configure an IPv6 in IPv4 Tunnel.


Specifies the IPv6 address for the endpoint on this host. If no value is specified, an IPv6 link-level address will be used (fe80::IPv4 address). This address must be in colon-separated form (1234::5678:9abc).


Specifies the IPv6 address for the endpoint on the remote host. If no value is specified, an IPv6 link-level address is used (fe80::IPv4 address). This address must be in colon separated form (1234::5678:9abc).


Specifies the IPv4 address for the endpoint on this host. It must be one of the currently configured IPv4 addresses on this host. This address must be specified in dotted decimal form (101.64.2.1).


Specifies the IPv4 address for the endpoint on the remote host. It must be one of the currently configured IPv4 addresses on the remote host, and must be specified in dotted decimal form (101.64.2.1).


Configures IPv6 and IPv4 network interface aliases.


Adds a new IPv4 alias to an existing IPv4 network interface. Select the type of interface you want to set up from the list of interfaces available.


Removes an IPv6 alias from an existing IPv6 network interface. Displays a list of network interfaces.


Specifies the IPv4 address alias to add to an existing IPv4 network interface. This address must be specified in dotted decimal form (101.64.2.1).


If you delete the IPv4 routing table in the configuration data base, all IPv4 routes stored in the kernel routing table will be lost at the next system startup.


If you delete the IPv6 routing table in the configuration data base, all IPv6 routes stored in the kernel routing table will be lost at the next system startup.


The name of the virtual interface. An interface that is being created displays as "vi". An existing interface name contains an interface number assigned by the system when it was created.

The virtual interface binds an application to a virtual IP address instead of a real network interface. In the event of a network or network interface failure, TCP/IP sessions will not be lost. A virtual interface does not have a device associated with it. Processes are able to bind with this interface like any other network interface.


The IPv4 (dotted decimal) or IPv6 (colon separated) address that is associated with this virtual interface.


The subnet mask, which identifies the subnet partitioning scheme to the system. This bit mask consists of the Network Address portion and Subnet Address portion of the IP address. The subnet mask is not used with IPv6 IP addresses.

The subnet mask is a set of 4 bytes, like the IP address. It consists of high bits (1's), which correspond to the bit positions of the network and subnetwork address, and low bits (0's), which correspond to the bit positions of the host address.

Subnet addressing allows an autonomous system made up of multiple networks to share the same Internet address. The subnetwork capability of TCP/IP also makes it possible to divide a single network into multiple logical networks (subnets). For example, an organization can have a single Internet network address that is known to users outside the organization, yet configure its network internally into departmental subnets. In either case, fewer Internet network addresses are required, and local routing capabilities are enhanced.


The number of bits in the network portion of the IP address. The prefix length is used by routing protocols. The format of this notation is "IP address/prefix length". For example, 123.4.56.78/27. The number after the "/" is the prefix length. For this network interface, the prefix length is required only if an IPv6 address is specified.


The existing state of the interface you are changing or the requested state of an interface you want to create. When an interface is down (inactive), any attempts to transmit messages through that interface will fail. The interface can be reset to disable reception as well. This action does not automatically disable routes using the interface.