When the system comes up
after installation, a series of windows appear that allow you to
configure your system name, time zone, root password, Internet Protocol
(IP) address, subnet mask, and other networking settings if you don't
enter them under the System tab at the time of installation.
One of the first questions you are asked is whether you want to use
DHCP to obtain networking information. Dynamic Host Configuration
Protocol works with an Ignite-UX server that automatically assigns
system name, IP address, and so on. Because the installation does not
use this, I answered "no" which means that I have to manually enter all
the information.
The system-specific information to be entered next can also be entered, after your system boots, by running /sbin/set_parms. This program can be used to set an individual system parameter or all the system parameters that would be set at boot time. /sbin/set_parms uses one of the arguments in Table 1, depending on what you would like to configure.
Table 1. /sbin/set_parms Arguments
| set_parms Argument | Comments |
|---|
| hostname | Sets hostname. |
| timezone | Sets time zone. |
| date_time | Sets date and time. |
| ip_address | Sets Internet Protocol address. |
| addl_network | Configures subnet mask, Domain Name System, and Network Information Service. |
| initial | Goes through the entire question-and-answer session you would experience at boot time. |
If you use the initial argument, various dialog boxes ask you for information. The System Hostname is requested in the following listing:
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For the system to operate correctly, you must assign it a unique
system name or "hostname". The hostname can be a simple name
(example: widget) or an Internet fully-qualified domain name
(example: widget.region.mycorp.com).
A simple name, or each dot (.) separated component of a domain name, must:
* Start and end with a letter or number.
* Contain no more than 8 characters per component.
* Contain no more than 63 total characters.
* Contain only letters, numbers, underscore (_), or dash (-).
The underscore (_) is not recommended.
NOTE: The first or only component of a hostname should contain no more
than 8 characters and the full hostname should contain no more
than 63 characters for maximum compatibility with HP-UX software.
The current hostname is npar2.
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Enter the system name, then press [Enter] or simply press [Enter]
to retain the current host name (npar2):
Next, you're asked about
the time zone and root password. After these are entered, you're asked
for the IP address as shown in the following listing:
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If you wish networking to operate correctly, you must assign the
system a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address. The IP address must:
* Contain 4 numeric components.
* Have a period (.) separating each numeric component.
* Contain numbers between 0 and 255.
For example: 134.32.3.10
Warning: Leading zeros within a component are not allowed!
Your current address is 192.6.174.67. To retain this address,
just press [Enter].
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Enter your IP address, then press [Enter] or press [Enter] to select
the current address (192.6.174.67):
You can now configure your subnet mask and other networking parameters.
Configuration includes the items shown in this listing:
You may configure some additional network parameters at this time:
* Subnetwork Mask and Default Gateway
* Domain Name System (DNS)
* Network Information Service (NIS)
Your local network administrator can tell you which if any of these
parameters should be configured for your system, and provide you the
appropriate values.
If you do not have these values now, you can configure them later.
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Do you want to configure these additional network parameters?
Press [y] for yes or [n] for no, then press [Enter]
Running set_parms initial or set_parms
with other options allows you to specify all the initial information
related to your system setup. This saves you the trouble of finding all
the relevant files in which you'd have to place the information you
provide to set_parms.
Among the information that is updated is the contents of /etc/rc.config.d/netconf, which contains the IP address of the LAN card, netmask, and default router you just entered. The /etc/hosts file is updated with the name and IP address of this host.
