Setting the System Parameters after Booting

When the system comes up after installation, a series of windows appear that allow you to configure your system name, time zone, root password, Internet Protocol (IP) address, subnet mask, and other networking settings (IP address and subnet mask background are provided in Chapter 12). One of the first questions you will be asked is whether or not you wish to use DHCP to obtain networking information. Dynamic host configuration protocol works with an Ignite-UX server that automatically assigns system name , IP address, and so on. Since our installation does not use this, I answered "no" which means that we'll have to enter all of our information manually.

The system-specific information to be entered next can also be entered, after your system boots, by running /sbin/set_parms . This program can be used to set an individual system parameter or all the system parameters that would be set at boot time. /sbin/ set_parms uses one of the arguments in Table 2-3, depending on what you would like to configure.

Table 2-3. /sbin/set_parms Arguments

set_parms Argument	Comments
Hostname	Set hostname.
Timezone	Set time zone.
date_time	Set date and time.
root_passwd	Set root password.
ip_address	Set Internet Protocol address (see Chapter 12 for networking background).
addl_network	Configure subnet mask, Domain Name System, and Network Information Service.
Initial	Go through the entire question-and-answer session you would experience at boot time.

If you use the initial argument, you'll interact with a variety of dialog boxes asking you for information. The System Hostname dialog box is shown in Figure 2-8.

Figure 2-8. Entering Hostname on Series 800 with set_parms

You'll then be asked for your time zone and root password. Figure 2-9 shows the dialog box for entering your IP address:

Figure 2-9. Entering IP Address on Series 800 with set_parms

You can then configure your subnet mask and other networking parameters.

Configuration includes the items shown in Figure 2-10:

Figure 2-10. Additional Configuration with set_parms setparms3.bmp

Running set_parms initial or set_parms with other options allows you to specify all of the initial information related to your system setup. This saves you the trouble of finding all of the relevant files in which you'd have to place the information you provide to set_parms .

Among the information that is updated is the contents of /etc/rc.config.d/ netconf , which contains the IP address of the LAN card, netmask , and default router we just entered. The /etc/ hosts file is updated with the name and IP address of this host. These files and their configuration are described in Chapter 12 which covers networking.