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Chapter 7 TCP/IP NIC Configuration
Creating Aliases
All TCP/IP systems are designed to make multiple operations easy by using
an alias, which is a logical name to IP/MAC address asso ciation. This step is
important in the Unix world if DNS (Domain Name Services) is b eing used; it
can also simplify the other environments.
Locate the
hosts
file. (If you are using Windows 95/98 and have never had a
hosts
file, you can create one by using Notepad or any other te xt editor and
saving it to the Windows directory.) Edit the file to add y our new P5000LJ
Printer, and save the file. Rebooting is not necessary.
Location of
hosts
file:
Windows 95/98 windows
NT windows/system32/drivers/etc
Unix /etc
HP e3000 host.net.sys
Example of entries in a
hosts
file:
10.200.30.123 printer1
10.200.30.130 accounting
192.168.2.33 next_state
10.200.30.18 MIS
In most Unix systems using DNS, a
hosts
table is constructed as shown
above. The file
nsswitch.conf
or its equivalent is then edited to associate a
MAC (hardware address) to an IP address in the
hosts
file. In doing this, any
individual client workstation needs only a single addres s entry—specifically,
the DNS host address—as a
ping
to printer1 is actually resolved by the DNS
machine and returned to the client workstation. This means a n administrator
need maintain only one
hosts
file for all to use, making updating central.
For peer to peer and small networks, using a local
hosts
table on each
workstation can function in place of DNS.
Note Make the names easy to remember but descriptively useful.