Garrett D'Amore writes: > You can easily see this by running snoop(1M) on an unplumbed device. > There can be other protocol implementations that use unplumbed devices > as well.
Or, for that matter, that have their *own* plumbing system quite apart from IP. Examples of this include PPPoE. An interface configured to use PPPoE but not IP is still "plumbed." > I think, for example, that the RARP service can run on a > device that is not plumbed for use with IP. (Once upon a time there > were other protocols that were popular in addition to IP ... IPX, > NetBIOS, EtherTalk, etc. All those have gone away in favor of IP-based > protocols.) I think it makes things easier to understand if you talk about having "IP plumbed on a link" rather than talking about whether or not a given interface is plumbed. IP is just one possible user, so having IP not (yet?) configured to use a particular link isn't (or shouldn't be) a special state for the link itself, and isn't relevant for other protocols. Part of the confusion here is that on other systems, there's no "plumb this protocol on this link" step involved in setting up an interface. All kernel-based protocols on those systems seek out and latch onto all available interfaces (through an ifnet structure or the like). OpenSolaris is different in that it has a System V and STREAMS heritage, and, unlike those other systems, you actually have to _open_ a driver if you want to use it -- hence the plumbing step, which opens the driver and connects it to the desired protocol. -- James Carlson, Solaris Networking <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sun Microsystems / 35 Network Drive 71.232W Vox +1 781 442 2084 MS UBUR02-212 / Burlington MA 01803-2757 42.496N Fax +1 781 442 1677 _______________________________________________ networking-discuss mailing list [email protected]
