From owner-freebsd-questions Thu May 2 15:52:25 1996 Return-Path: owner-questions Received: (from root@localhost) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.3/8.7.3) id PAA03024 for questions-outgoing; Thu, 2 May 1996 15:52:25 -0700 (PDT) Received: from fslg8.fsl.noaa.gov (fslg8.fsl.noaa.gov [137.75.131.171]) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.3/8.7.3) with SMTP id PAA03018 for ; Thu, 2 May 1996 15:52:20 -0700 (PDT) Received: by fslg8.fsl.noaa.gov (5.57/Ultrix3.0-C) id AA00907; Thu, 2 May 96 22:52:18 GMT Message-Id: <9605022252.AA00907@fslg8.fsl.noaa.gov> Received: by emu.fsl.noaa.gov (1.40.112.3/16.2) id AA284387538; Thu, 2 May 1996 16:52:18 -0600 Date: Thu, 2 May 1996 16:52:18 -0600 From: Sean Kelly To: blewis@vet.vet.purdue.edu Cc: questions@freebsd.org In-Reply-To: <199604300441.XAA17509@localhost> (message from Benjamin Lewis on Mon, 29 Apr 1996 23:41:41 -0500) Subject: Re: Setting up a network at home Sender: owner-questions@freebsd.org X-Loop: FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk >>>>> "Benjamin" == Benjamin Lewis writes: Benjamin> I've been running FreeBSD on my machine at home for Benjamin> quite a while. I have it connected to the internet Benjamin> through user PPP -> SLiRP, and I'm tremendously happy Benjamin> with it. Excellent. Not surprisingly, I have a similar setup through my employer ... luckily, they're nice enough to let me keep the connection going constantly. Benjamin> I plan on purchasing another (more powerful) computer Benjamin> and installing FreeBSD on that too. That's my plan as well, although I'll probably get a less powerful computer as well. (We used to have one and did serial IP between the two hosts but it old system died.) My wife and I need a system we can dedicate to the internet connection and our home automation project without having to shut it down to use Quicken under DOS/Windows. Plus, my wife's demanded a system for her desk---and that one will likely be a more powerful one than our current system. Benjamin> Naturally, having two network-capable machines in the Benjamin> same house just begs for a little in-home net of my own. You said it. We're making plans for such a setup. Benjamin> I've played around with this sort of thing using various Benjamin> friends' and family members' notebook computers and a Benjamin> serial connection, but I'm feeling a bit more ambitious Benjamin> now and would like to set up an ethernet connection Benjamin> between the computers. Yes, Ethernet is definitely the way to go in the home, either over 10base2 or 10baseT. 10base2 is cheaper, but 10baseT is easier to work with (supposedly) and more modern---hence, more you'll be likely to find compatible components in the future. Benjamin> I've read various man pages, Handbook entries, FAQ's and Benjamin> even Linux How-To's, and that allowed me to do the kind Benjamin> of half-*ssed networking that I've done to this point. Benjamin> This time, I'd like to "Do It Right," but I just don't Benjamin> know *exactly everything* that is required. I've never Benjamin> worked with ethernet, so I'm pretty clueless in that Benjamin> area. I haven't worked with Ethernet since I was a systems administrator about three years ago, but I'm hoping that through man pages and a foggy memory that I'll have enough to do it again. You're more than welcome to call on me any time for questions, etc. I can share my own experiences with you as I have them, if you wish. Benjamin> This is kind of a "vanity" thing, so I thought I'd make Benjamin> it a little more complex than absolutely necessary in Benjamin> order to learn a bit more about this stuff. I know what you mean. I'd like to be able to be the first on the block with an in-home LAN. Benjamin> host1: Gateway PPP : 10.0.2.15 ether: 10.0.2.16 (I Benjamin> understand that I need a separate IP number for this, Benjamin> correct?) Correct. Benjamin> I thought I'd run a little name server on host1 so that Benjamin> Win95 will be able to use hostnames instead of IP Benjamin> numbers to refer to local hosts. I think a nameserver is overkill for two-node network. What's worse, it requires coordination with your service provider ... they have to be willing to route to your domain or provide a subdomain under their domain. If you get your own domain name, then you have to pay a $50 yearly maintenance fee to the InterNIC. Benjamin> Does Win95 have an equivalent to /etc/hosts that would Benjamin> eliminate this need? If it does, I'd use it. When you get 20 or so hosts, then I'd go for a nameserver. Benjamin> I'm interested in finding out what the various config Benjamin> files should look like, i.e. /etc/hosts, /etc/named/*, Benjamin> whatever else needs to be changed. And don't forget /etc/sysconfig. /etc/hosts on both host1 and host2 should contain two entries for host1, listing both addresses: 10.0.2.15 host1-gw 10.0.2.16 host1 10.0.2.17 host2 You an leave /etc/named/* all alone. Let's see, in /etc/sysconfig for host1, you need to add the Ethernet interface to the ``network_interfaces'' line and add an ifconfig_ entry for the interface. For example, with a Lance ethernet interface and /usr/sbin/ppp: tcp_extensions=YES network_interfaces="lo0 tun0 le0" ifconfig_le0="inet 10.0.2.16 netmask 0xffffff00" defaultrouter=NO routedflags=NO namedflags="NO" gateway=YES You'll also need to compile your kernel for host1 with options GATEWAY in the config file. On host2, you won't need the GATEWAY option. Its /etc/sysconfig should have tcp_extensions=YES network_interfaces="lo0 le0" ifconfig_le0="inet 10.0.2.17 netmask 0xffffff00" defaultrouter=10.0.2.16 routedflags=NO namedflags="NO" gateway=NO Benjamin> The Handbook is pretty clear about /etc/printcap,o Thanks ... I wrote that part! ;-) Benjamin> From what I've read so far, it looks like 10 Base-2 Benjamin> cabling is the way to go for an el-cheapo net like this Benjamin> one. Probably, but again consider the future. If you move into a new house, it's pretty cheap to get category-5 wired all around to each of the rooms and into some 66-punch down blocks in the basement/wiring closet. Here, you can install a 10baseT hub, terminal server, and gateway system, etc. and still have room to expand. And then the network admin at work is saying he'd like to try out CIDR (classless Internet domain routing) with me ... now I have to learn what that's all about! Take care. -- Sean Kelly NOAA Forecast Systems Laboratory kelly@fsl.noaa.gov Boulder Colorado USA http://www-sdd.fsl.noaa.gov/~kelly/