Setting up the network
Before digging through recipes based on networking, it is essential to have a basic understanding of setting up a network, terminologies, and commands for assigning IP address, adding routes, and so on. This recipe provides an overview of commands used in GNU/Linux networks.
Getting ready
A network interface physically connects a machine to a network, either with a wire or a Wi-Fi link. Linux denotes network interfaces using names such as eth0
, eth1
, or enp0s25
(referring to Ethernet interfaces). Other interfaces, namely usb0
, wlan0
, and tun0
, are available for USB network interfaces, wireless LAN, and tunnels, respectively.
In this recipe, we will use these commands: ifconfig
, route
, nslookup
, and host
.
The ifconfig
command is used to configure and display details about network interfaces, subnet mask, and so on. It should be available at /sbin/ifconfig
.
How to do it...
- List the current network interface configuration:
$ ifconfig lo Link encap:Local...