Chapter 12: Configuring Networks

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

Objectives
Configure network interfaces using commandline and graphical utilities Set up a simple DHCP server Manage networked printing services

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

Configuring Linux Networking

Learn more about
Networking protocols Network configuration

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

Understanding Network Devices in Linux

Linux networking devices
Not shown in /dev directory Do not exist on system until appropriate device driver installed in kernel

Networking device
Named channel over which network traffic can pass

Device drivers for networking are kernel modules

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

Understanding Network Devices in Linux (continued)

Kernel modules can be loaded or unloaded while Linux is running /dev/eth0
First Ethernet card installed on system

Media Access Control (MAC) address

Unique address assigned by Ethernet card manufacturer

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

Understanding Network Devices in Linux (continued)

To obtain MAC address
Host broadcasts message to entire network segment using Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) Host with IP address responds directly to computer that sent ARP request with MAC address Source host stores MAC address and IP address

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

Understanding Network Devices in Linux (continued)

arp command
Display ARP cache
Mapping of IP addresses to hardware addresses

Used mainly for troubleshooting network connectivity Refreshed frequently

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

Configuring Networking with Command-line Utilities

ifconfig command
Set up network configuration in Linux kernel Parameters include:
Network interface IP address assigned to interface Network mask

Syntax
ifconfig device ip_address netmask address broadcast address
The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration 8

Configuring Networking with Command-line Utilities (continued)

Packet
Unit of data that network card transmits

Broadcast address sends packet to all computers on same part of network Maximum transmission unit (MTU)
Maximum size of packet interface supports

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

Configuring Networking with Command-line Utilities (continued)

View status of interface: ifconfig eth0 Stop Ethernet interface: ifconfig eth0 down Start Ethernet interface: ifconfig eth0 up Routing table tells networking software where to send packets that are not part of local network

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

10

Configuring Networking with Command-line Utilities (continued)

route command
View or configure routing table within kernel Executed at boot time when networking initialized Output information for addresses
192.168.100.0 (eth0 IP address) 127.0.0.0 Other

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

11

Configuring Networking with Command-line Utilities (continued)

Route command output
Destination Gateway Genmask Flags Ref Use Iface

Add route example:

route add -net 192.168.100.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 dev eth0

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

12

Configuring Networking with Command-line Utilities (continued)

service command
Start or stop networking Relies on script /etc/rc.d/init.d/network

/etc/sysconfig/networking/devices configuration directory

Contains file for each network device ifcfg-eth0 file
Used by /etc/rc.d/init.d/network script As it executes ifconfig and route commands
The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration 13

Configuring Networking with Command-line Utilities (continued)

ifup and ifdown scripts manage single interface, rather than all network interfaces
Better than using ifconfig command directly
Looks at parameters and associated functionality needed to cleanly manage interface

Example: ./ifdown eth0

Some systems have two or more physical network devices

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

14

Configuring Networking with Command-line Utilities (continued)

IP forwarding
Allows packets to be passed between network interfaces Required for any router To enable: echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward

Linux includes graphical utilities that set up and manage networking

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

15

Configuring Networking Using Graphical Tools

system-config-network program
Included with Red Hat Linux and Fedora Devices tab
List of each Linux networking device Name and type of hardware driver

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

16

Configuring Networking Using Graphical Tools (continued)

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

17

Configuring the DNS Resolver

DNS
Used to convert host and domain names into IP addresses Implemented by server that supports DNS

Reverse DNS converts IP address to domain name Resolving

Process of converting domain name to IP address or vice versa
The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration 18

Configuring the DNS Resolver (continued)

Resolver
Client part of DNS Makes requests to DNS server Test by pinging another system using host name instead of IP address Configured by file /etc/resolv.conf Contains IP address of one or more DNS servers preceded by keyword nameserver Can include up to three DNS servers
The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration 19

Configuring the DNS Resolver (continued)

Keyword
Word to which program reading configuration file attaches special meaning

Utilities for researching DNS problems:

dnsquery nslookup dig whois host

/etc/hosts file stores IP addresses and corresponding domain names in text file on host
The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration 20

Configuring the DNS Resolver (continued)

/etc/hosts file
By default contains only host name localhost and own hosts name On small network:
Create hosts file that contains each host and IP address of host Avoid need for DNS server Can have nonlocal domain names resolved by request to DNS server

Configuring DNS resolver graphically uses system-config-network to set up resolver

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration 21

Configuring the DNS Resolver (continued)

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

22

Dynamic Routing with Routing Protocols

Static routing
Uses preconfigured routing table Not good choice for:
Larger networks Unreliable connections

Dynamic routing uses specialized routing protocol to build and modify routing tables automatically

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

23

Dynamic Routing with Routing Protocols (continued)

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

24

Dynamic Routing with Routing Protocols (continued)

Routing protocols divided into two categories
Interior: designed for routing packets among networks under your control Exterior: designed for routing packets between networks controlled by different organizations

All routing protocols designed to exchange information among routers

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

25

Dynamic Routing with Routing Protocols (continued)

Routing Information Protocol (RIP)
Interior routing protocol Oldest routing protocol still in common use Implemented in Linux using routed daemon Easy to configure and run Choice of most network administrators

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

26

Dynamic Routing with Routing Protocols (continued)

Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) protocol
Interior routing protocol Designed to work effectively even in very large networks Uses technique called flooding Few Linux network administrators use it Implemented using gated daemon

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

27

Dynamic Routing with Routing Protocols (continued)

Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)
Designed for routing between major national networks Supported by gated daemon

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

28

Configuring a DHCP Server

DHCP server installed by default on many Linux systems /etc/dhcpd.conf file
Configuration for DHCP Instructs DHCP server which IP address ranges are available for DHCP clients

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

29

Configuring a DHCP Server (continued)

When client requests IP address :
DHCP server leases address to client for specified time At end of lease client must request new IP address Whole arrangement transparent to user on client host

DHCP client can run on any operating system

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

30

Networked Printing Services

Linux includes network printing capabilities

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

31

Using Traditional Linux Printing: LPRng

Traditional Linux printing system Based on BSD version of UNIX Allows multiple users to print files at same time to:
Local printer Networked printers

Print queues
System administrator must define printers Printer definitions describe type of printer and features to be used
The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration 32

Using Traditional Linux Printing: LPRng (continued)

Printing file in LPRng system
Application submits file to be printed (print job) Print job processed by print filter converts information from Linux application into formatting codes to produce desired output Printing utility stores print job in print spool directory
Default directory /var/spool/lpd

Lpd print server program keeps track of all print jobs in all print queues on system
The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration 33

Using Traditional Linux Printing: LPRng (continued)

Correlation between print queue and physical printer not always one to one Linux print filter
Same as printer driver in other operating systems Converts documents or images into format that printer can use

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

34

Using Traditional Linux Printing: LPRng (continued)

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

35

Using Traditional Linux Printing: LPRng (continued)

Page description language
Special set of codes Determine graphic elements, text font, and everything else about what appears on printed page Most widely used:
PostScript Printer Control Language (PCL)

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

36

Using Traditional Linux Printing: LPRng (continued)

Magic filter
Can convert documents for many different printers Convenient to support hundreds of printers Doesnt allow Linux to use specialized features of each printer Script /usr/share/printconf/util/mf_wrapper
Main print filter in Red Hat Linux and Fedora Starts magicfilter-t program Uses several other programs in conversion process
The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration 37

Using Traditional Linux Printing: LPRng (continued)

Configuring local printer definitions
Each LPRng printer definition created as print queue entry in /etc/printcap configuration file
Uses complex format

Must provide appropriate Linux device name

Parallel ports use device name lp followed by device number Serial ports use name ttyS followed by device number

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

38

Printing Remotely Using LPRng

Define printer on system that refers to remote computer and print queue on remote system
Key options in configuration file
rm remote system specified rp remote print queue specified

Once print job has been sent to remote system using lpd, user has no direct control over it

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

39

Printing Remotely Using LPRng (continued)

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

40

Understanding the Common UNIX Printing System (CUPS)

Provides new architecture for Linux printing Users browse network to find and print to networked printers and other devices System administrators manage printer definitions and print jobs across network Installed by default in Red Hat Linux and Fedora cupsd
Main print server daemon

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

41

Understanding the Common UNIX Printing System (CUPS) (continued)

cupsd print server daemon
Uses HTTP protocol Manages printers using web browser interface

CUPS architecture uses network port 631

Start CUPS user interface
http//localhost:631/

/etc/cups/cupsd.conf file specifies setting for each active server option

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

42

Understanding the Common UNIX Printing System (CUPS) (continued)

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

43

Understanding the Common UNIX Printing System (CUPS) (continued)

Many printers are configured using PostScript Printer Description (PPD) file
Manufacturers can easily create text-based configuration file Permits printer to be graphically configured using standard utilities

CUPS class
Group of printers to which user can submit print job First available printer within used to print job
The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration 44

Managing Printing
Printing policy
Brief statement of rules describing:
How printing resources can be used How printers should be managed

lpc utility controls LPRng or CUPS printing Alternatives printing system

Maps print command to different programs Based on which printing system in use

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

45

Managing Printing (continued)

Alternatives command lpr command and lpc command
Symbolic links

Using lpc
Prevent new print jobs from being accepted by print queue Prevent print jobs from being sent to printer Cancel print job currently being printed See status of any printer
The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration 46

Managing Printing (continued)

lpq utility lists each print job in print queue with status information lprm command deletes print job from queue Graphical print management utilities
Print Manager

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

47

Summary
Ethernet card includes unique MAC address
Used by address resolution protocol

ifconfig command used to configure networking interface in kernel route command modifies internal routing table system-config-network utility graphically configures network devices

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

48

Summary (continued)
DHCP server on Linux requires configuring /etc/dhcpd.conf file Linux printing relies on printer definitions Red Hat Linux and Fedora support both LPRng and CUPS printing using alternatives printing system Print jobs can be managed using command line utilities or graphical interface

The Complete Guide to Linux System Administration

49