Linux Network Configuration
Linux Network Configuration
File Description
/etc/resolve.conf List DNS servers for internet domain name resolution
/etc/hosts Lists hosts to be resolved locally (not by DNS)
/etc/nsswitch.conf
List order of host name search. Typically look at loca
files, then NIS server, then DNS server.
Specify network configuration. eg. Static IP, DHCP,
Red Hat/Fedora/CentOS: /etc/sysconfig/network
etc.
Red Hat/Fedora/CentOS: /etc/sysconfig/network- Specify TCP network information.
scripts/ifcfg-device
Specify network configuration and devices. eg. Static
Ubuntu/Debian: /etc/network/interfaces
and info, DHCP, etc.
Domain Resolution Configuration Files:
search name-of-domain.com - Name of your domain or ISP's domain if using their name ser
nameserver XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX - IP address of primary name server
nameserver XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX - IP address of secondary name server
• This configures Linux so that it knows which DNS server will be resolving domain names into IP
addresses. If using DHCP client, this will automatically be sent to you by the ISP and loaded into this file
as part of the DHCP protocol. If using a static IP address, ask the ISP or check another machine on your
network.
Red Hat/Fedora GUI: /usr/sbin/system-config-network (select tab "DNS".
• File: /etc/hosts - locally resolve node names to IP addresses
• Note when adding hosts to this file, place the fully qualified name first. (It helps sendmail identify your
server correctly) i.e.:
• XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX superserver.yolinux.com superserver
• This informs Linux of local systems on the network which are not handled by the DNS server. (or for all
systems in your LAN if you are not using DNS or NIS)
Red Hat/Fedora GUI: /usr/sbin/system-config-network (select tab "Hosts".
• File: /etc/nsswitch.conf - System Databases and Name Service Switch configuration file
• This example tells Linux to first resolve a host name by looking at the local hosts file(/etc/hosts), then
if the name is not found look to your DNS server as defined by /etc/resolv.conf and if not found there
look to your NIS server.
• In the past this file has had the following names: /etc/nsswitch.conf, /etc/svc.conf, /etc/netsvc.conf, ...
depending on the distribution.
Red Hat network configuration file used by the system during the boot process.
• File: /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0
Configuration settings for your first ethernet port (0). Your second port is eth1.
• File:
o /etc/modprobe.conf (kernel 2.6)
o /etc/modules.conf (kernel 2.4)
o (or for older systems: /etc/conf.modules)
Modules for other devices on the system will also be listed. This tells the kernel which device driver to
use if configured as a loadable module. (default for Red Hat)
The following GUI tools edit the system configuration files. There is no difference in the configuration
developed with the GUI tools and that developed by editing system configuration files directly.
• Network configuration:
/usr/sbin/system-config-network (FC-2/3) GUI shown here --->
/usr/bin/redhat-config-network (/usr/bin/neat) (RH 7.2+ FC-1)
• Text console configuration tool:
/usr/sbin/system-config-network-tui (Text User Interface (TUI) for Fedora Core
2/3)
/usr/bin/redhat-config-network-tui (RH 9.0 - FC-1)
• Text console network configuration tool.
First interface only - eth0: /usr/sbin/netconfig
• /usr/bin/netcfg (GUI) (last available with RH 7.1)
Gnome Desktop:
Computers may be assiged a static IP address or assigned one dynamically. Typically a server will require a
static IP while a workstation will use DHCP (dynamic IP assignment). The Linux server requires a static IP so
that those who wish to use its resources can find the system. It is more easily found if the IP address does not
change and is static. This is not important for the Linux client workstation and thus it is easier to use an
automated Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) for IP address assignment.
Static IP address assignment:
• Command Line:
Note: the highest and lowest addresses are based on the netmask. The previous example is based on a
netmask of 255.255.255.0
The ifconfig command does NOT store this information permanently. Upon reboot this information is lost.
(Manually add the commands to the end of the file /etc/rc.d/rc.local to execute them upon boot.) The
commands netcfg and netconfig make permanent changes to system network configuration files located in
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/, so that this information is retained.
The IANA has allocated IP addresses in the range of 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255 for private networks.
Helpful tools:
• Network Calculators: Subnet mask calculator, node calculator, mask inverter, ...
• IP subnet calculator
File: /etc/network/interfaces
Static IP example:
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet static
address 208.88.34.106
netmask 255.255.255.248
broadcast 208.88.34.111
network 208.88.34.104
gateway 208.88.34.110
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp
auto eth1
iface eth1 inet dhcp
auto eth2
iface eth2 inet dhcp
auto ath0
iface ath0 inet dhcp
auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet dhcp
Interfaces:
• lo: Loopback interface (network within your system without slowing down for the real
ethernet based network)
• eth0: First ethernet interface card
• wlan0: First wireless network interface
The Red Hat configuration tools store the configuration information in the file /etc/sysconfig/network.
They will also allow one to configure routing information.
• File: /etc/sysconfig/network
NETWORKING=yes
HOSTNAME=my-hostname - Hostname is defined here and by command hostname
FORWARD_IPV4=true - True for NAT firewall gateways and linux routers.
False for everyone else - desktops and servers.
GATEWAY="XXX.XXX.XXX.YYY" - Used if your network is connected to another network or the
internet.
Static IP configuration. Gateway not defined here for DHCP
client.
NETWORKING=yes
HOSTNAME=my-hostname - Hostname is defined here and by command hostname
NETWORKING=yes
HOSTNAME=my-hostname - Hostname is defined here and by command hostname
NISDOMAIN=NISProject1 - NIS domain to attach
• File (Red Hat/Fedora): /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0
(S.u.s.e.: /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-eth-id-XX:XX:XX:XX:XX)
This file used by the command scripts ifup and ifdown
DEVICE=eth0
BOOTPROTO=static
BROADCAST=XXX.XXX.XXX.255
IPADDR=XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX
NETMASK=255.255.255.0
NETWORK=XXX.XXX.XXX.0
ONBOOT=yes - Will activate upon system boot
RHEL4/FC3 additions:
o TYPE=Ethernet
o HWADDR=XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
o GATEWAY=XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX
DEVICE=eth0
ONBOOT=yes
BOOTPROTO=dhcp
RHEL4/FC3 additions:
o IPV6INIT=no
o USERCTL=no
o PEERDNS=yes
o TYPE=Ethernet
o HWADDR=XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
In order for updated information in any of these files to take effect, one must issue the command: service
network restart (or: /etc/init.d/network restart)
One may also want to check the file /etc/hosts for an entry using the system name which allows the system to
be self aware.
The hostname may be changed at runtime using the command: sysctl -w kernel.hostname="superserver"
Select the "DNS" tab. Select the "Devices" tab + "Edit" + the "General" tab.
Network IP aliasing:
DEVICE=eth0:0
ONBOOT=yes
BOOTPROTO=static
BROADCAST=192.168.10.255
IPADDR=192.168.10.12
NETMASK=255.255.255.0
NETWORK=192.168.10.0
ONBOOT=yes
Aliases can also be shut down independently. i.e.: ifdown eth0:0
The option during kernel compile is: CONFIG_IP_ALIAS=y (Enabled by default in Redhat)
Note: The Apache web server can be configured so that different IP addresses can be assigned to specific
domains being hosted. See Apache configuration and "configuring an IP based virtual host" in the YoLinux Web
site configuration tutorial.
Device eth0
IP: 4.XXX.XXX.XXX
Netmask: 255.255.252.0
Broadcast: 4.XXX.XXX.255
Network: 4.XXX.XXX.0
Boot server 131.XXX.XXX.4
Next server 0.0.0.0
Gateway: 4.XXX.XXX.1
Domain: vz.dsl.genuity.net
Nameservers: 4.XXX.XXX.1 4.XXX.XXX.2 4.XXX.XXX.3
Renewal time: Sat Aug 11 08:28:55 2001
Expiration time: Sat Aug 11 11:28:55 2001
Activating and De-Activating your NIC:
Commands for starting and stopping TCP/IP network services on a Network Interface Card (NIC):
• Configure Ethernet, ISDN, modem, token Ring, Wireless or DSL network connection:
/usr/sbin/system-config-network-druid (FC2/3)
/usr/sbin/redhat-config-network-druid (RH 9 - FC-1)
Subnets:
M # OF CLAS CLASS
CLASS CLASS
A SUB Slash CLASS A CLASS B S C CLASS C C SUB CLASS C SUB
A B
S NET Fmt HOSTS MASK HOST MASK HOSTS MASK
MASK HOSTS
K S S
1 Invalid
255.0.0. 255.255.0. 255.255.255. 255.255.255.25
255 or /32 16,777,214 65,534 254 1
0 0 0 5
256 address
Invalid
254.0.0. 255.254.0. 255.255.254. 2 255.255.255.25
254 128 /31 33,554,430 131,070 510
0 0 0 addresse 4
s
2 hosts
252.0.0. 255.252.0. 255.255.252. 4 255.255.255.25
252 64 /30 67,108,862 262,142 1,022
0 0 0 addresse 2
s
6 hosts
248.0.0. 255.248.0. 255.255.248. 8 255.255.255.24
248 32 /29 134,217,726 524,286 2,046
0 0 0 addresse 8
s
14 hosts
240.0.0. 1,048,57 255.240.0. 255.255.240. 16 255.255.255.24
240 16 /28 268,435,454 4,094
0 4 0 0 addresse 0
s
30 hosts
224.0.0. 2,097,15 255.224.0. 255.255.224. 32 255.255.255.22
224 8 /27 536,870,910 8,190
0 0 0 0 addresse 4
s
62 hosts
1,073,741,82 192.0.0. 4,194,30 255.192.0. 255.255.192. 64 255.255.255.19
192 4 /26 16,382
2 0 2 0 0 addresse 2
s
126
hosts
2,147,483,64 128.0.0. 8,388,60 255.128.0. 255.255.128. 255.255.255.12
128 2 /25 32,766 128
6 0 6 0 0 8
addresse
s
Binary position 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Value 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
Example: 192 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Example 192=128+64
Some addresses are reserved and outside this scope. Loopback (127.0.0.1), reserved class C 192.168.XXX.XXX,
reserved class B 172.31.XXX.XXX and reserved class A 10.XXX.XXX.XXX.
Subnet Example:
Your ISP assigns you a subnet mask of 255.255.255.248 for your office.
Of the eight addresses, there are six assigned to hardware systems and ultimately only five usable
addresses.
Links:
Network Classes:
The concept of network classes is a little obsolete as subnets are now used to define smaller networks. These
subnets may be part of a class A, B, C, etc network. For historical reference the network classes are defined as
follows:
Enable Forwarding:
Forwarding allows the network packets on one network interface (i.e. eth0) to be forwarded to another network
interface (i.e. eth1). This will allow the Linux computer to conect ("ethernet bridge") or route network traffic.
The bridge configuration will merge two (or several) networks into one single network topology. IpTables
firewall rules can be used to filter traffic.
A router configuration can support multicast and basic IP routing using the "route" command. IP masquerading
(NAT) can be used to connect private local area networks (LAN) to the internet or load balance servers.
Another method is to alter the Linux kernel config file: /etc/sysctl.conf Set the following value:
net.ipv4.ip_forward = 1
FORWARD_IPV4=true
All methods will result in a proc file value of "1". Test: cat /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward
The TCP Man page - Linux Programmer's Manual and /usr/src/linux/Documentation/proc.txt (Kernel 2.2 RH
7.0-) cover /proc/sys/net/ipv4/* file descriptions.
• Configure Linux as an internet gateway router: Using Linux and iptables/ipchains to set up an internet
gateway for home or office (iptables)
• Load balancing servers using LVS (Linux Virtual Server) (ipvsadm)
Manual method: This does not alter the permanent configuration and will only configure support until the next
reboot.
• cd /lib/modules/2.2.5-15/net/ - Use kernel version for your system. This example uses 2.2.5-15
(Fedora Core 3: /lib/modules/2.6.12-1.1381_FC3/kernel/net/)
Here you will find the modules supported by your system.
It can be permanently added to:
o /etc/modprobe.conf (kernel 2.6)
o /etc/modules.conf (kernel 2.4)
o (or for older systems: /etc/conf.modules)
Example:
The easy way: Red Hat versions 6.2 and later, ship with Kudzu, a device detection program which runs during
system initialization. (/etc/rc.d/init.d/kudzu) This can detect a newly installed NIC and load the appropriate
driver. Then use /usr/sbin/netconfig to configure the IP address and network settings. The configuration will
be stored so that it will be utilized upon system boot.
Systems with two NIC cards: Typically two cards are used when connecting to two networks. In this case the
device must be defined using one of three methods:
OR
DEVICE=eth1
BOOTPROTO=static
IPADDR=192.168.10.12
NETMASK=255.255.255.0
GATEWAY=XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX
HOSTNAME=node-name.name-of-domain.com
DOMAIN=name-of-domain.com
Example:
OR
Define IP address:
Where XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX is the gateway to the internet as defined by your ISP or network operator.
If a mistake is made just repeat the route command substituting "del" in place of "add".
This is usually not necessary because most ethernet adapters can auto-negotiate link speed and duplex setting.
Command Description
ethtool -g eth0 Queries ethernet device for rx/tx ring parameter information.
ethtool -a eth0 Queries ethernet device for pause parameter information.
ethtool -c eth0 Queries ethernet device for coalescing information.
ethtool -i eth0 Queries ethernet device for associated driver information.
ethtool -d eth0 Prints a register dump for the specified ethernet device.
ethtool -k eth0 Queries ethernet device for offload information.
ethtool -S eth0 Queries ethernet device for NIC and driver statistics.
Man Pages:
Route:
Static routes: IP (Internet Protocol) uses a routing table to determine where packets should be sent. First the
packet is examined to see if its' destination is for the local or remote network. If it is to be sent to a remote
network, the routing table is consulted to determine the path. If there is no information in the routing table then
the packet is sent to the default gateway. Static routes are set with the route command and with the
configuration file
(Red Hat/Fedora): /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/route-eth0
or
(Red Hat 7: /etc/sysconfig/static-routes)
(S.u.s.e. 9.2: /etc/sysconfig/network/routes):
Dynamic routes: RIP (Routing Information Protocol) is used to define dynamic routes. If multiple routes are
possible, RIP will choose the shortest route. (Fewest hops between routers not physical distance.) Routers use
RIP to broadcast the routing table over UDP port 520. The routers would then add new or improved routes to
their routing tables.
Man pages:
VPN, Tunneling:
The network listening daemons listen and respond to all network socket connections made on the TCP/IP ports
assigned to it. The ports are defined by the file /etc/services. When a connection is made, the listener will
attempt to invoke the assigned program and pipe the data to it. This simplified matters by allowing the assigned
program to read from stdin instead of making its own sockets connection. The listener hadles the network socket
connection. Two network listening and management daemons have been used in Red Hat Linux distributions:
inetd:
Configuration file: /etc/inetd.conf
Entries in this file consist of a single line made up of the following fields:
service socket-type protocol wait user server cmdline
• service: The name assigned to the service. Matches the name given in the file
/etc/services
• socket-type:
o stream: connection protocols (TCP)
o dgram: datagram protocols (UDP)
o raw
o rdm
o seqpacket
• protocol: Transport protocol name which matches a name in the file /etc/protocols. i.e.
udp, icmp, tcp, rpc/udp, rpc/tcp, ip, ipv6
• wait: Applies only to datagram protocols (UDP).
o wait[.max]: One server for the specified port at any time (RPC)
o nowait[.max]: Continue to listen and launch new services if a new connection is
made. (multi-threaded)
Max refers to the maximum number of server instances spawned in 60 seconds. (default=40)
• user[.group]: login id of the user the process is executed under. Often nobody, root or a
special restricted id for that service.
• server: Full path name of the server program to be executed.
• cmdline: Command line to be passed to the server. This includes argument 0 (argv[0]),
that is the command name. This field is empty for internal services. Example of internal TCP
services: echo, discard, chargen (character generator), daytime (human readable time), and time
(machine readable time). (see RFC)
The inet daemon must be restarted to pick up the changes made to the file:
/etc/rc.d/init.d/inetd restart
For more information see the man pages "inetd" and "inetd.conf".
Use the command chkconfig --list to view all system services and their state. It will also list all
network services controlled by xinetd and their respective state under the title "xinetd based services".
(Works for xinetd (RH7.0+) but not inetd)
The xinetd network daemon uses PAM also called network wrappers which invoke the
/etc/hosts.allow and /etc/hosts.deny files.
Configuration file: /etc/xinetd.conf which in turn uses configuration files found in the directory
/etc/xinetd.d/.
To turn a network service on or off:
disable = yes
or
disable = no
service service-name
{
attribute assignment-operator value value ...
...
{
Where:
• attribute:
o disable:
yes
no
o type:
RPC
INTERNAL:
UNLISTED: Not found in /etc/rpc or /etc/services
o id: By default the service id is the same as the service name.
o socket_type:
stream: TCP
dgram: UDP
raw: Direct IP access
seqpacket: service that requires reliable sequential datagram transmission
o flags: Combination of: REUSE, INTERCEPT, NORETRY, IDONLY, NAMEINARGS,
NODELAY, DISABLE, KEEPALIVE, NOLIBWRAP.
See the xinetd man page for details.
o protocol: Transport protocol name which matches a name in the file
/etc/protocols.
o wait:
no: multi-threaded
yes: single-threaded - One server for the specified port at any time (RPC)
o user: See file : /etc/passwd
o group: See file : /etc/group
o server: Program to execute and recieve data stream from socket. (Fully qualified
name - full pathe name of program)
o server_args: Unlike inetd, arg[0] or the name of the service is not passed.
o only_from: IP address, factorized address, netmask range, hostname or network
name from file /etc/networks.
o no_access: Deny from ... (inverse of only_from)
o access_times
o port: See file /etc/services
• assignment-operator:
o =
o +=: add a value to the set of values
o -=: delete a value from the set of values
Example from man page: Limit telnet sessions to 8 Mbytes of memory and a total 20 CPU seconds for
child processes.
service telnet
{
socket_type = stream
wait = no
nice = 10
user = root
server = /usr/etc/in.telnetd
rlimit_as = 8M
rlimit_cpu = 20
}
[Pitfall] Red Hat 7.1 with updates as of 07/06/2001 required that I restart the xinetd services before FTP
would work properly even though xinetd had started without failure during the boot sequence. I have no
explanation as to why this occurs or how to fix it other than to restart xinetd:
/etc/rc.d/init.d/xinetd restart.
Man Pages:
• xinetd
• xinetd.conf
• xinetd.log
• tcpd
The "rwho" command is used to display users logged into computers on your LAN.
By default, Red Hat Linux has the network interface to the rwhod disabled. Thus if one issues the command
"rwho", you will only see who is logged into the system you are logged into and not remote systems on the
network. This is a safe approach for internet servers as it reduces the exposure of a service which could be
exploited by hackers. If you wish to use rwhod on a local private and firewall protected network, here is how:
Start service:
• Set service to start with system boot: chkconfig --level 345 rwhod on
• Start rwhod service: service rwhod start
(or: service rwhod restart)
Man pages:
Portmapper is a network service required to support RPC's. Many services such as NFS (file sharing services)
require portmapper.
• /etc/rc.d/init.d/portmap start
• service portmap start (Red Hat/Fedora Core)
Man Pages:
• portmap
• rpcinfo
• pmap_set
• pmap_dump
This system allows or denies network access. One can reject or allow specific IP addresses or subnets to access
your system.
File: /etc/hosts.allow
in.ftpd:208.188.34.105
This specifically allows the given IP address to ftp to your system. One can also specify an entire domain. i.e.
.name-of-domain.com
Note the beginning ".".
File: /etc/hosts.deny
ALL:ALL
This generally denies any access.
File: /etc/inetd.conf
The inet daemon accepts the incoming network stream and assigns it to the PAM TCP wrapper, /usr/sbin/tcpd,
which accepts or denies the network connection as defined by /etc/hosts.allow and /etc/hosts.deny and
then passes it along to ftp. This is logged to /var/log/secure
Advanced PAM: More specific access can be assigned and controlled by controlling the level of authentication
required for access.
Files reflect the inet service name. Rules and modules are stacked to achieve the level of security desired.
Modules:
• Wietse's Papers
• Pluggable Authentication Modules for Linux (PAM) Home Page
ICMP:
ICMP is the network protocol used by the ping and traceroute commands.
ICMP redirect packets are sent from the router to the host to inform the host of a better route. To enable ICMP
redirect, add the following line to /etc/sysctl.conf :
net.ipv4.conf.all.accept_redirects = 1
for f in /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/*/accept_redirects
do
echo 1 > $f
done
NOTE: This may leave you vulnerable to hackers as attackers may alter your routes.
Iptables:
iptables -A OUTPUT -p icmp -d 0/0 -j DROP
Ipchains:
ipchains -A output -p icmp -d 0/0 -j DENY
OR drop all incomming pings:
echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/icmp_echo_ignore_all
This is sometimes necessary to look invisible to DOS (Denial Of Service) attackers who use ping to watch your
machine and launch an attack when it's pressence is detected
Network Monitoring Tools:
RPM's required:
There is an error in the ethereal package because it does not show the snmp libraries as a dependancies,
but you can deduce this from the errors that you get if the ucd-snmp libraries are not installed.
• EtherApe - Graphical network monitor for Unix modeled after etherman. This is a great network
discovery program with cool graphics. (Red Hat Powertools CD 7.1)
• Gkrellm - Network and system monitor. Good for monitoring your workstation. (Red Hat Powertools
CD)
• IPTraf - ncurses-based IP LAN monitor. (Red Hat Powertools CD)
• Cheops - Network discovery, location, diagnosis and management. Cheops can identify all of the
computers that are on your network, their IP address, their DNS name, the operating system they are
running. Cheops can run a port scan on any system on your network. (Red Hat Powertools CD)
• ntop - Shows network usage in a way similar to what top does for processes. Monitors how much data is
being sent and received on your network. (Red Hat Powertools CD)
• MRTG - Multi Router Traffic Grapher - Monitor network traffic load using SNMP and generate an
HTML/GIF report. (See sample output)
• dnsad - IP traffic capture. Export to Cisco Netflow for network analysis reporting.
• scotty - Obtain status and configuration information about your network. Supports SNMP, ICMP, DNS,
HTTP, SUN RPC, NTP, & UDP. (Red Hat Powertools CD)
• Big Brother - Monitoring ans services availablility.
• OpenNMS.org - Network Management using SNMP.
• Nagios - host, service and network monitoring
• Angel network monitor
SNORT: Monitor the network, performing real-time traffic analysis and packet logging on IP networks for the
detection of an attack or probe.
Reverse ARP (See: RFC 903) is a bootstrap protocol which allows a client to broadcast requesting a server to
reply with its IP address.
ARP is something that simply works. No Linux system configuration is necessary. It's all part of the ethernet and
IP protocol. The aforementioned information is just part of the Linux culture of full visibility into what is going
on.
Regular network exchanges of data are peer to peer unicast transactions. An HTTP request to a web server
(TCP/IP), email SNMP (TCP/IP), DNS (UDP), FTP (TCP/IP), ... are all peer to peer unicast transactions. If one
wants to transmit a video, audio or data stream to multiple nodes with one transmission stream instead of
multiple individual peer to peer connections, one for each node, one may use multicasting to reduce network
load. Note that multicast and a network broadcast are different. Multicast messages are only "heard" by the nodes
on the network that have "joined the multicast group" which are those that are interested in the information.
The Linux kernel is Level-2 Multicast-Compliant. It meets all requirements to send, receive and act as a router
for multicast datagrams. For a process to receive multicast datagrams it has to request the kernel to join the
multicast group and bind the port receiving the datagrams. When a process is no longer interested in the multicast
group, a request is made to the kernel to leave the group. It is the kernel/host which joins the multicast group and
not the process. Kernel configuration requires "CONFIG_IP_MULTICAST=y". In order for the Linux kernel to
support multicast routing, set the following in the kernel config:
• CONFIG_IP_MULTICAST=y
• CONFIG_IP_ROUTER=y
• CONFIG_IP_MROUTE=y
• CONFIG_NET_IPIP=y
The default Red Hat / Fedora kernels are compiled to support multicast.
See the YoLinux tutorial on optimization and rebuilding the Linux kernal.
Note that on multihomed systems (more than one IP address/network card), only one device can be configured to
handle multicast.
Class D networks with a range of IP addresses from 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255 (See Network Classes above)
have typically been reserved for multicast.
Usefull commands:
Command Description
List multicast group to which the host is subscribed. Use "Internet Group
cat /proc/net/igmp Management Protocol".
(See /usr/src/linux/net/core/igmp.c)
cat List multicast interfaces.
/proc/net/dev_mcast (See /usr/src/linux/net/core/dev_mcast.c)
ping 224.0.0.1 All hosts configured for multicast will respond with their IP addresses
ping 224.0.0.2 All routers configured for multicast will respond
ping 224.0.0.3 All PIM routers configured for multicast will respond
ping 224.0.0.4 All DVMRP routers configured for multicast will respond
ping 224.0.0.5 All OSPF routers configured for multicast will respond
Multicast transmissions are achieved through proper routing, router configuration (if communicating through
subnets) and programatically with the use of the following "C" function library calls:
The multicast application will specify the multicast loopback interface, TTL (network time to live),
network interface and the multicast group to add or drop.
Note that if adding a route to forward packets through a router, that the router MUST be configured to forward
multicast packets. Many routers do not support forwarding of multicast packets or have a default configuration
which does not. The internet by default does not forward multicast packets.
Living in a MS/Windows World:
Make your life simple and use the GUI/File Manager LinNeighborhood. It uses smbmount, samba and
smbclient to give you access to MS/Windows servers and printers.
Network Definitions:
• IPv4: Most of the Internet servers and personal computers use Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4). This
uses 32 bits to assign a network address as defined by the four octets of an IP address up to
255.255.255.255. Which is the representation of four 8 bit numbers thus totaling 32 bits.
• IPv6: Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) uses a 128 bit address and thus billions and billions of potential
addresses. The protocol has also been upgraded to include new quality of service features and security.
Currently Linux supports IPv6 but IPv4 is used when connecting your computer to the internet.
• TCP/IP: (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) uses a client - server model for
communications. The protocol defines the data packets transmitted (packet header, data section), data
integrity verification (error detection bytes), connection and acknowledgement protocol, and re-
transmission.
• TCP/IP time to live (TTL): This is a counting mechanism to determine how long a packet is valid
before it reaches its destination. Each time a TCP/IP packet passes through a router it will decrement its
TTL count. When the count reaches zero the packet is dropped by the router. This ensures that errant
routing and looping aimless packets will not flood the network.
• MAC Address: (media access control) is the network card address used for communication between
other network devices on the subnet. This info is not routable. The ARP table maps TCP/IP address
(global internet) to the local hardware on the local network. Use the command /sbin/ifconfig to view
both the IP address and the MAC address. The MAC address uniquely identifies each node of a network
and is used by the Ethernet protocol.
• Full Duplex: Allows the simultaneous sending and receiving of packets. Most modern modems support
full duplex.
• Half Duplex: Allows the sending and receiving of packets in one direction at a time only.
• OSI 7 Layer Model: The ISO (International Standards Organization) has defined the OSI (Open Systems
Interconnection) model for current networking protocols.
OSI Layer Description Linux Networking Use
7 Application Layer. telnet, web browser,
The top layer for communications applications like email and the sendmail
web.
6 Presentation Layer. SMTP, http
Syntax and format of data transfer.
5 Session Layer.
4 Transport Layer. TCP
Connection, acknowledgement and data packet transmission. UDP
3 Network Layer. IP
ARP
2 Data Link Layer. Ethernet
Error control, timing
1 Physical Layer. Ethernet
Electrical characteristics of signal and NIC
• Network Hub: Hardware to connect network devices together. The devices will all be on the same
network and/or subnet. All network traffic is shared and can be sniffed by any other node connected to
the same hub.
• Network Switch: Like a hub but creates a private link between any two connected nodes when a network
connection is established. This reduces the amount of network collisions and thus improves speed.
Broadcast messages are still sent to all nodes.