9.4. General Network Configuration

9.4.1. Creating Network Interface Configuration Files

The /etc/conf.d/network file determines which interfaces are brought up and down by the network service.

To specify the interfaces you want to have brought up, edit the /etc/conf.d/network configuration file, which has plenty of comments.

9.4.2. Creating the /etc/resolv.conf File

The system will need some means of obtaining Domain Name Service (DNS) name resolution to resolve Internet domain names to IP addresses, and vice versa. This is best achieved by placing the IP address of the DNS server, available from the ISP or network administrator, into /etc/resolv.conf. Create the file by running the following:

cat > /etc/resolv.conf << "EOF"
# Begin /etc/resolv.conf

domain <Your Domain Name>
nameserver <IP address of your primary nameserver>
nameserver <IP address of your secondary nameserver>

# End /etc/resolv.conf
EOF

The domain statement can be omitted or replaced with a search statement. See the man page for resolv.conf for more details.

Replace <IP address of the nameserver> with the IP address of the DNS most appropriate for the setup. There will often be more than one entry (requirements demand secondary servers for fallback capability). If you only need or want one DNS server, remove the second nameserver line from the file. The IP address may also be a router on the local network.

9.4.3. Configuring the System Hostname

During the boot process, the file /etc/hostname is used for establishing the system's hostname.

Create the /etc/hostname file and enter a hostname by running:

echo "<lfs>" > /etc/hostname

<lfs> needs to be replaced with the name given to the computer. Do not enter the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) here. That information goes in the /etc/hosts file.

9.4.4. Customizing the /etc/hosts File

Decide on a fully-qualified domain name (FQDN), and possible aliases for use in the /etc/hosts file. If using static IP addresses, you'll also need to decide on an IP address. The syntax for a hosts file entry is:

IP_address myhost.example.org aliases

Unless the computer is to be visible to the Internet (i.e., there is a registered domain and a valid block of assigned IP addresses—most users do not have this), make sure that the IP address is in the private network IP address range. Valid ranges are:

Private Network Address Range      Normal Prefix
10.0.0.1 - 10.255.255.254           8
172.x.0.1 - 172.x.255.254           16
192.168.y.1 - 192.168.y.254         24

x can be any number in the range 16-31. y can be any number in the range 0-255.

A valid private IP address could be 192.168.1.2.

If the computer is to be visible to the Internet, a valid FQDN can be the domain name itself, or a string resulted by concatenating a prefix (often the hostname) and the domain name with a “.” character. And, you need to contact the domain provider to resolve the FQDN to your public IP address.

Even if the computer is not visible to the Internet, a FQDN is still needed for certain programs, such as MTAs, to operate properly. A special FQDN, localhost.localdomain, can be used for this purpose.

Create the /etc/hosts file by running:

cat > /etc/hosts << "EOF"
# Begin /etc/hosts

127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost
127.0.1.1 <FQDN> <HOSTNAME>
<192.168.1.2> <FQDN> <HOSTNAME> [alias1] [alias2 ...]
::1       localhost ip6-localhost ip6-loopback
ff02::1   ip6-allnodes
ff02::2   ip6-allrouters

# End /etc/hosts
EOF

The <192.168.1.2>, <FQDN>, and <HOSTNAME> values need to be changed for specific uses or requirements (if assigned an IP address by a network/system administrator and the machine will be connected to an existing network). The optional alias name(s) can be omitted.