This *Command configures network interface parameters.
*IfConfig [-e] interface [inet <__host__> [<__parameters__>]]
-e | Place any fatal error report string in the system variable Inet$Error instead of writing it to the standard output |
interface | Two character name (as defined by the manufacturer) and unit number (starting from 0 for the first of that type fitted) of an interface – e.g. en0 (Acorn Ethernet 2 unit 0), ea1 (Acorn Ethernet 3 unit 1), ec0 (Econet) |
host | Internet host specified either by name (which must be present in the host name data base InetDBase$Path hosts) or by address (using the standard Internet dot notation) |
parameters | Following parameters are available: |
up | Mark an interface ‘up’. This may be used to enable an interface after going IfConfig – down. It happens automatically when setting the first address on an interface. If the interface was reset when previously marked down, the hardware will be re-initialised |
down | Mark an interface ‘down’. When an interface is marked ‘down’, the system will not attempt to transmit messages through that interface. If possible, the interface will be reset to disable reception as well. This action does not automatically disable routes using the interface |
arp | Enable the use of the Address Resolution Protocol in mapping between network level addresses and link level addresses (default), for mapping between Internet addresses and Ethernet addresses |
–arp | Disable the use of the Address Resolution Protocol |
metric <n> | Set the routing metric of the interface to n (default 0). The routing metric is used by the routing protocol. Higher metrics have the effect of making a route less favourable; metrics are counted as additional hops to the destination network or host |
Netmask <mask> | Specify how much of the address to reserve for subdividing networks into sub-networks. The mask includes the network part of the local address and the subnet part, which is taken from the host field of the address. The mask can be specified as a single hexadecimal number with a leading 0x, as an Internet address using the standard dot notation, or as a pseudo-network name listed in the network table Inet$Dbase networks. The mask contains 1’s for the bit positions in the 32-bit address which are to be used for the network and subnet parts, and 0’s for the host part. The mask should contain at least the standard network portion, and the subnet field should be contiguous with the network portion |
broadcast | Specify the address to use to represent broadcasts to the network. The default broadcast address is the address with a host part of all 1’s |
The IfConfig program is used to assign an Internet address to a network interface supported by the Internet module, and/or to configure network interface parameters. It must be used at Internet module startup time to define the network address of each interface present on a machine; it may also be used at a later time to redefine an interface’s address or other operating parameters.
If you don’t use any of the optional parameters, the IfConfig program displays the current configuration for a network interface.