2 - C H A P T E R -

C H A P T E R 2

Using InterDomain Networks

This chapter contains instructions on how to use the IDN commands. Make sure that you read Chapter 1 before you attempt to use the commands in this chapter.

Note - For information and procedures on how to configure IDNs, refer to the Sun Enterprise 10000 Domain Configuration Guide in the Solaris 8 6/00 on Sun Hardware Answerbook Collection.

IDN Requirements

This section contains the general and OpenBoot PROM (OBP) requirements for IDNs.

Domain and SSP

Before you can use IDN commands, your system must have, at the minimum, the following software components:

The host must have a version of the Solaris operating environment for the Sun Enterprise 10000 server, which contains the IDN driver packages (SUNWidn.u, the 32-bit binaries, and SUNWidnx.u, the 64-bit binaries).

The SSP must have SSP 3.2, minimally, with all of the current patches.

OpenBoot PROM Variable

OBP has one variable, the shared memory region (SMR) size, idn-smr-size that must be set before you link any domains. A value of zero disables the IDN feature. A nonzero value indicates the number of megabytes of kernel space to reserve for the SMR.

To set this variable, boot, or halt, the system to the OBP prompt and set the variable by using the setenv command, as in the following example:

<#ø> ok setenv idn-smr-size 32

The value of idn-smr-size can be set only at the OBP prompt. You must reboot the domain before the new value can take affect. You can, however, decrease the actual size of the SMR by using the idn_smr_size idn.conf variable. For more information about the default and suggested sizes for the idn-smr-size variable, refer to the Sun Enterprise 10000 Domain Configuration Guide.

Using IDN Commands

The following commands support IDN:

domain_link(1M) - Links domains to form or expand an IDN

domain_unlink(1M) - Unlinks one or more domains from an IDN

domain_status(1M) - Displays information about the domains that make up all of the IDNs on the server

Note - You must be user ssp to run the domain_link(1M), domain_unlink(1M), and domain_status(1M) commands. Refer to the man pages for these commands in the Sun Enterprise 10000 SSP 3.3 Reference Manual.

Viewing IDN Status

The domain_status(1M) command returns a listing that provides general information about domains, as well as the list of any IDNs that contain those domains. Here is an example:

ssp% domain_status

DOMAIN						TYPE										 PLATFORM 				OS 		SYSBDS

xf3						Ultra-Enterprise-10000											xf3			5.7		4 6 7

xf3-b8						Ultra-Enterprise-10000											xf3			5.7		8 9 13

xf3-b10-hme0						Ultra-Enterprise-10000											xf3			5.6		10 11

xf3-b2						Ultra-Enterprise-10000											xf3			5.8		2 14

xf3-b5-fddi0						Ultra-Enterprise-10000											xf3			5.7		0 1 5

IDN NETWORKS

0: xf3-b2 xf3-b8

1: xf3 xf3-b5-fddi0

The section at the bottom of this listing indicates that two IDNs exist on this server. Each IDN is identified by a number followed by the names of the domains that make up that network. Note that the number associated with the IDN is simply a tag used in the listing; it is not a persistent identifier for that IDN.

Using the `domain_link`(1M) Command

This section contains procedures for linking domains to create an IDN. The method for creating an IDN depends on the state of the domains that you want to link together. You can link inactive domains or active domains. For more information about the domain_link(1M) command, see Linking Domains.

To Use the domain_link(1M) Command With Inactive Domains

The following procedure contains steps for linking two domains, domain_a and domain_b. If you are linking more than two domains, you must perform the domain-specific steps (that is, those executed at the domain prompt) for all of the domains.

None of the domains that are to be part of an IDN need be up and operational prior to defining an IDN; however, if the domains are not booted, the link operation updates only the logical IDN information maintained by the SSP. When the domain is brought up by using the bringup(1M) command, the information on the SSP about the IDN is used to configure the domain.

Note - Before you perform the steps in this procedure, you must ensure that each domain has an /etc/hostname.idnX file defined. For more information about this file, refer to the Sun Enterprise 10000 Domain Configuration Guide. If this file is not already defined, you must create it for each domain before you proceed with the remaining steps in this section.

1. Use the domain_switch(1M) command to ensure that the SUNW_HOSTNAME variable is set to the correct domain name.

The domain must be running a version of the Solaris operating environment that supports IDNs. Refer to the IDN release notes for version support information. The domain_link(1M) command will not succeed if the SUNW_HOSTNAME variable is set to a domain that is running the Solaris 2.5.1, Solaris 2.6, Solaris 7, Solaris 7 3/99, Solaris 7 5/99, or Solaris 7 8/99 operating environment.

2. On the SSP, execute the domain_link(1M) command to define an IDN.

ssp% domain_link domain_a domain_b

Note - Because domains can be linked when they are not booted, you cannot verify that a given domain supports IDN. If the domain does not support IDN, then upon boot, the domain will not be automatically linked.

3. Bring up the domains to the OpenBoot PROM (OBP) prompt.

4. At the OBP prompt, ensure that the IDN driver is enabled.

The idn-smr-size variable must be set to a valid nonzero value to enable the IDN driver.

<#Ø> ok printenv

If the idn-smr-size variable is not set properly, see OpenBoot PROM Variable for instructions on how to set this variable.

5. Execute the bringup(1M) command for each domain.

6. Boot the domains.

After all domains are booted, the IDN between them is automatically enabled by using the SSP services that detect the booted domains.

To Use the domain_link(1M) Command With Active Domains for TCP/IP

1. Ensure that each domain has an /etc/hostname.idnX file defined.

For more information about this file, refer to the Sun Enterprise 10000 Domain Configuration Guide. If this file is not already defined, you must create it for each domain before you proceed with the remaining steps in this section.

2. Use the eeprom(1M) command to ensure that the IDN driver is enabled.

Note - The OBP variable idn-smr-size must be set prior to boot so that the operating environments will reserve the appropriate amount of memory for the SMR. By default, idn_nwr_size is equal to idn-smr-size, so typically, idn-smr-size must be set to an equivalent value for all of the domains in the IDN.

The idn-smr-size variable must be set to a valid non-zero value to enable the IDN driver.

<#Ø> ok printenv

If the idn-smr-size variable is not set properly, see OpenBoot PROM Variable for instructions on how to set this variable.

3. Use the domain_link(1M) command to link the domains.

ssp% domain_link domain_a domain_b

To Create a Basic IDN

The following procedure contains steps to set up a very basic TCP/IP network. Your configuration can vary; therefore, the examples in the steps may not work for your configuration. Refer to the TCP/IP and Data Communications Administration Guide for more specific information on how to set up a TCP/IP network.

1. Use the domain_switch(1M) command to ensure that the SUNW_HOSTNAME variable is set to the correct domain name.

2. Use the eeprom(1M) command to ensure that the IDN driver is enabled in each domain.

The idn-smr-size variable must be set to a valid nonzero value to enable the IDN driver. If the idn-smr-size variable is not set properly, see OpenBoot PROM Variable for instructions on how to set this variable.

3. Plumb and configure the IDN interfaces in each domain that is part of the IDN.

Refer to the Sun Enterprise 10000 Domain Configuration Guide for more information about plumbing and configuring IDN interfaces. Note that you can link domains to an IDN before or after you plumb and configure the IDN interface.

4. Use the domain_link(1M) command to link the domains.

ssp% domain_link domain_a domain_b

To Merge IDNs

Use the names of two domains in separate IDNs with the domain_link(1M) command.

ssp% domain_link domain_a domain_b

This command merges the IDN that contains domain_a with the IDN that contains domain_b. A master domain is chosen for the new IDN from among the domains in both of the existing IDNs.

Using the `domain_unlink`(1M) Command

This section contains instructions for unlinking domains from an IDN. The method of unlinking an IDN depends of the state of the domains that you want to unlink and the state of the other domains in the IDN. For more information about the domain_unlink(1M) command, see Unlinking Domains.

To Unlink a Domain From an IDN

1. Use the domain_status(1M) command to check the status of all of the domains in the IDN.

2. On the SSP, execute the domain_unlink(1M) command to disconnect IDN connections to the domain.

ssp% domain_unlink domain_name

If the IDN contains domains that are in an unknown (AWOL) state (halted or hung), you must unlink all of the AWOL domains simultaneously, or use one of the force options on the given domain. For example, if domain_a and domain_c are in unknown states, you should unlink them simultaneously with the following command:

ssp% domain_unlink domain_a domain_c

If a domain is non-responsive, you can use the force option (-f or -F) to unlink the given domain.

ssp% domain_unlink -f domain_b

Caution - Try to unlink all AWOL domains first before you attempt to unlink a domain with the force option. For more information about forcing an unlink operation, see Force Options.

At this point, the domain is fully unlinked from the IDN.

You can dismantle the TCP/IP stack and unlink the IDN connection in any order. Unlinking a domain from an IDN does not necessarily require that the TCP/IP stack be dismantled. In the example above, idn0 is based on the IPv4 usage. Refer to the IPv6 documentation for the correct usage for IPv6. Note that IPv6 is not supported in the Solaris 7 operating environment. Refer to the hosts(4) man page for more information about configuring TCP/IP networks. Refer to the Sun Enterprise 10000 Domain Configuration Guide for more information on how to dismantle the IDN interfaces.

Note - If you unlink the last pair of domains in an IDN, the IDN will no longer exist, so no information will appear in the domain_status(1M) output.

Updated: 2003-06-09, 13:58