10.8. Configuring the network Script

10.8.1. Creating Network Interface Configuration Files

Which interfaces are brought up and down by the network script depends on the files and directories in the /etc/network.d hierarchy. This directory should contain a file for each interface to be configured, such as interface.xyz, where “xyz” is a network interface name. Inside this file we would be defining the attributes to this interface, such as its IP address(es), subnet masks, and so forth.

The following command creates the network.conf file for use by the entire system:

cat > ${CLFS}/etc/network.conf << "EOF"
# /etc/network.conf
# Global Networking Configuration
# interface configuration is in /etc/network.d/

# set to yes to enable networking
NETWORKING=yes

# set to yes to set default route to gateway
USE_GATEWAY=no

# set to gateway IP address
GATEWAY=192.168.0.1

# Interfaces to add to br0 bridge
# Leave commented to not setup a network bridge
# Substitute br0 for eth0 in the interface.eth0 sample below to bring up br0
# instead
# bcm47xx with vlans:
#BRIDGE_INTERFACES="eth0.0 eth0.1 wlan0"
# Other access point with a wired eth0 and a wireless wlan0 interface:
#BRIDGE_INTERFACES="eth0 wlan0"

EOF

The GATEWAY variable should contain the default gateway IP address, if one is present. If not, then comment out the variable entirely.

The following command creates a sample interface.eth0 file for the eth0 device:

mkdir ${CLFS}/etc/network.d &&
cat > ${CLFS}/etc/network.d/interface.eth0 << "EOF"
# Network Interface Configuration

# network device name
INTERFACE=eth0

# set to yes to use DHCP instead of the settings below
DHCP=no

# IP address
IPADDRESS=192.168.1.2

# netmask
NETMASK=255.255.255.0

# broadcast address
BROADCAST=192.168.1.255
EOF

The INTERFACE variable should contain the name of the interface interface.

The DHCP variable if set to yes will allow you to use dhcp. If set to no, you will need to configure the rest of the options.

The IPADDRESS variable should contain the default IP address for this interface.

The NETMASK variable should contain the default Subnet Mask for the IP address for this interface.

The BROADCAST variable should contain the default Broadcast Address for the Subnet Mask of the IP Range being used on this interface.

10.8.2. Creating the ${CLFS}/etc/udhcpc.conf File

For DHCP to work properly a configuration script is needed. Create a sample udhcpc.conf:

mkdir ${CLFS}/etc/network.d &&
cat > ${CLFS}/etc/network.d/interface.eth0 << "EOF"
#!/bin/sh
# udhcpc Interface Configuration
# Based on http://lists.debian.org/debian-boot/2002/11/msg00500.html
# udhcpc script edited by Tim Riker <Tim@Rikers.org>

[ -z "$1" ] && echo "Error: should be called from udhcpc" && exit 1

RESOLV_CONF="/etc/resolv.conf"
RESOLV_BAK="/etc/resolv.bak"

[ -n "$broadcast" ] && BROADCAST="broadcast $broadcast"
[ -n "$subnet" ] && NETMASK="netmask $subnet"

case "$1" in
	deconfig)
		if [ -f "$RESOLV_BAK" ]; then
			mv "$RESOLV_BAK" "$RESOLV_CONF"
		fi
		/sbin/ifconfig $interface 0.0.0.0
		;;

	renew|bound)
		/sbin/ifconfig $interface $ip $BROADCAST $NETMASK

		if [ -n "$router" ] ; then
			while route del default gw 0.0.0.0 dev $interface ; do
				true
			done

			for i in $router ; do
				route add default gw $i dev $interface
			done
		fi

		if [ ! -f "$RESOLV_BAK" ] && [ -f "$RESOLV_CONF" ]; then
			mv "$RESOLV_CONF" "$RESOLV_BAK"
		fi

		echo -n > $RESOLV_CONF
		[ -n "$domain" ] && echo search $domain >> $RESOLV_CONF
		for i in $dns ; do
			echo nameserver $i >> $RESOLV_CONF
		done
		;;
esac

exit 0
EOF

chmod +x ${CLFS}/etc/udhcpc.conf

10.8.3. Creating the ${CLFS}/etc/resolv.conf File

If the system is going to be connected to the Internet, it will need some means of 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 > ${CLFS}/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

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.