C H A P T E R  2

Configuring the Driver Software

This chapter includes information and instructions for configuring the driver software used by the Sun eri FastEthernet PCI adapter.

This chapter includes the following sections:


Configuring the Host File

The 64-bit driver is included with the Solaris CD.

Before using eri as your network interface, you will need to create and edit system host files, as described in the next section.


procedure icon  To Configure the Host File

1. At the command line, use the grep command to search the /etc/path_to_inst file for eri devices. For example:

# grep eri /etc/path_to_inst
"/pci@8,700000/network@5,1" 0 "eri" 

2. Create an /etc/hostname.eri num file, where num is the instance number of each interface you plan to use.

If you want to use the network interface from the example in Step 1 , you will need to create a file:

File Name

Instance Number

/etc/hostname.eri0

0


Using the instance examples in Step 1 , the following example shows the two
/etc/hostname.erinum files required for a system called zardoz that has a Sun eri FastEthernet ( zardoz, zardoz-11 ).

# cat /etc/hostname.hme0
zardoz
# cat /etc/hostname.eri0
zardoz-11

3. Create an appropriate entry in the /etc/hosts file for each active eri network interface.

Using the previous example, you will have:

# cat /etc/hosts
#
# Internet host table
#
127.0.0.1     localhost
129.144.10.57 zardoz    loghost
129.144.11.83 zardoz-11



Note Note - The Internet Protocol, version 6 (IPv6), expands the capabilities of IPv4, which is the current version and the default. The Sun eri FastEthernet device driver included in this release of the Solaris operating environment supports both IPv4 and IPv6. IPv4 uses the /etc/hosts configuration file, but IPv6 uses a different configuration file. To transition to, manage, and implement IPv6, refer to the Solaris System Administration Guide, Volume 3.



4. Reboot your system.


Booting From the Network

To use a Sun eri interface as the boot device, perform the following tasks:


procedure icon  To Boot From the Network

1. At the ok prompt type:

ok show-nets

The show-nets command lists the system devices. You should see the full path name of the eri devices, similar to the following examples:

/pci@8,700000/network@5,1



Note Note - You need to select only one of these eri devices for booting.



2. At the ok prompt type:

ok boot full_path_name_of_the_eri_device


Optional Post-Installation Procedures

To customize the performance of the Sun eri FastEthernet driver, perform the tasks in the following sections.

Setting Driver Parameters

The eri device driver, which is loaded from the Solaris CD-ROM, controls the SUNW,eri Ethernet devices. The device driver selects the link speed using the auto-negotiation protocol with the link partner.

You can manually set the eri device driver parameters to customize each SUNW,eri device in your system in one of three ways.


procedure icon  To Force Network Speed Between 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps

1. At the ok prompt, use the show-nets command to list the system devices.

You should see the full path names of the eri devices, similar to the following example:

/pci@8,700000/network@5,1

2. Type:

ok nvedit

3. Type the following, pressing the Return key at the end of line 0:

0: probe-all install-console banner
1: apply transfer-speed=10 full_ path_name_of_a_eri_device



Note Note - If you already have commands in NVRAM, append these lines to the end of the file.



4. Press Control-C after typing full_ path_name_of_a_ eri _device.

Perform Steps 2 to 4 to set the network speed for each eri network interface.



Note Note - In the preceding example, the speed is forced to 10 Mbps. To force the speed to 100 Mbps, replace 10 with 100.



5. At the ok prompt type:

ok nvstore
ok setenv use-nvramrc? true

6. Reboot your system.

See Setting Forced Mode for more information on forcing network speed.