Installing Net-tools


make
make install
mv /usr/bin/netstat /bin
cd /usr/sbin
mv ifconfig route /sbin

Creating the /etc/init.d/localnet bootscript


#!/bin/sh
# Begin /etc/init.d/localnet

check_status()
{
  if [ $? = 0 ]
  then
    echo "OK"
  else
    echo "FAILED"
  fi
}

echo -n "Setting up loopback device..."
/sbin/ifconfig lo 127.0.0.1
check_status

echo -n "Setting up hostname..."
/bin/hostname --file /etc/hostname
check_status

# End /etc/init.d/localnet

Setting up permissions and symlink


chmod 755 /etc/init.d/localnet


cd /etc/rcS.d
ln -s ../init.d/localnet S03localnet

Creating the /etc/hostname file

Create a new file /etc/hostname and put the hostname in it. This is not the FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name). This is the name you wish to call your computer in a network.

Creating the /etc/hosts file

If you want to configure a network card, you have to decide on the IP-address, FQDN and possible aliases for use in the /etc/hosts file. An example is:


<myip> myhost.mydomain.org aliases

Make sure the IP-address is in the private network IP-address range. Valid ranges are:


Class Networks
A     10.0.0.0
B     172.16.0.0 through 172.31.0.0
C     192.168.0.0 through 192.168.255.0

A valid IP address could be 192.168.1.1. A valid FQDN for this IP could be me.linuxfromscratch.org

If you're not going to use a network card, you still need to come up with a FQDN. This is necessary for programs like Sendmail to operate correctly (in fact; Sendmail won't run when it can't determine the FQDN).


# Begin /etc/hosts (no network card version)
127.0.0.1 me.lfs.org <contents of /etc/hostname> localhost
# End /etc/hosts (no network card version)


# Begin /etc/hosts (network card version)
127.0.0.1 localhost
192.168.1.1 me.lfs.org <contents of /etc/hostname>
# End /etc/hosts (network card version)

Of course, change the 192.168.1.1 and me.lfs.org to your own liking (or requirements if you are assigned an IP-address by a network/system administrator and you plan on connecting this machine to that network).

Creating the /etc/init.d/ethnet file

This section only applies if you are going to configure a network card. if not, skip this section.


#!/bin/sh
# Begin /etc/init.d/ethnet

check_status()
{
  if [ $? = 0 ]
  then
    echo "OK"
  else
    echo "FAILED"
  fi
}

IPADDR="209.83.245.12" # Replace with your own IP address
NETMAKSK="255.255.255.0" # Replace with your own Netmask
NETWORK="209.83.245.0" # Replace with your own Network address
BROADCAST="209.83.245.255" # Replace with your own Broadcast addr.
GATEWAY="209.83.245.1" # Replace with your own Gateway address

echo -n "Setting up eth0..."
/sbin/ifconfig eth0 $(IPADDR) broadcast $(BROADCAST) netmask $(NETMASK)
check_status

echo "Setting up route..."
/sbin/route add -net $(NETWORK) netmask $(NETMASK) eth0
check_status

echo "Adding default gateway..."
/sbin/route add default gw $(GATEWAY) metric 1
check_status

# End /etc/init.d/ethnet

Setting up permissions and symlink


chmod 755 /etc/init.d/ethnet


cd /etc/init.d/rc2.d
ln -s ../init.d/ethnet S10ethnet

Testing the network setup


/etc/init.d/localnet


/etc/init.d/ethnet


ping <FQDN>
ping <contents of /etc/hostname>
ping localhost
ping 127.0.0.1
ping <IP address of network card if you have one>

All these ping command should work without failure. If so, the basic networking is working.