On Sunday 15 September 2002 21:19, Bob Proulx wrote: > john gennard <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [2002-09-15 20:30:54 +0100]: > > Have been trying to use 'ifconfig' to configure a number of NICs > > as an alternative to 'etherconf'. > > > > Etherconf puts the configurations into /etc/network/interfaces, > > but I don't see where ifconfig puts them. Running 'ifconfig -a' > > shows the eth0 and eth1 details if run shortly afterwards, but > > if run after rebooting it shows the details minus the inet > > address and the card is not usable. > > The ifconfig program is a very low level command like 'mv' or > 'rm'. It does not have configuration files. > > The etherconf script is a higher level interface that attempts to > set up and configure those configuration files you mentioned for > the ifup command. > > For years the ifconfig script was used directly at system startup > time in the /etc/*rc* scripts. The system admin would just hard > code in the script the commands needed to boot that particular > system. Obviously every machine was hand crafted with tender > loving care. > > As machines became more mass produced those scripts were > generalized. Hand crafting startup scripts is now out of favor. > But how to do that? Every system does it differently. On most > systems you are in a maze of twisty little passages all different. > Whereas on debian you are in a twisty little maze of passages all > different. Debian is no different in that it is different from > everyone else. > > I am not an expert here because since I started using Debian this > part has always just worked for me and I have not needed to dig > into the details. But I believe debian uses 'ifup' called from > the /etc/init.d/networking script to configure the networking. I > believe ifup is a program designed to replace ifconfig and reads > those configuration files you mentioned. > > So to better answer your question, the alternative to etherconf is > not ifconfig but rather your favorite editor on those files. >
Thank you very much for the detailed explanation - I've made great strides as a result of this and other responses. Regards, john. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
