HP-UX Internet Services Administrator's Guide (August 2003)

Installing and Configuring Internet Services
Configuring the Internet Services Software
Chapter 230
• “Editing the /etc/hosts File” on page 31
• “Configuring a Route” on page 32
• “Changing a Host’s IP Address” on page 33
Choosing a Name Service
HP-UX provides ways to translate host names to IP addresses or IP
addresses to host names:
• BIND (Berkeley Internet Name Domain), which is Berkeley’s
implementation of the Domain Name System (DNS).
• The /etc/hosts file, a simple ASCII file that is searched
sequentially.
• NIS (Network Information Service), one of the NFS services
(previously called “Yellow Pages”).
• NIS+ (the next generation of NIS). NIS+ is more scalable and has
better security features than NIS.
By configuring the name service switch, you can use these name services
in any order you choose. See “Configuring the Name Service Switch” on
page 26.
If you have a large network, or if you need to connect to Internet hosts
outside your local network, use BIND as your primary name service.
When you use BIND, you administer a central database containing only
the hosts on your local network, and you have access to the databases on
all the other hosts on the Internet. See “Configuring and Administering
the BIND Name Service” in the HP-UX IP Address and Client
Management Administrator’s Guide at the URL
http://www.docs.hp.com/hpux/netcom/index.html#Internet%20Se
rvices, for instructions on configuring BIND.
If you have a large network and little need for Internet connectivity, you
can use NIS as your primary name service. The NIS hosts database is
administered centrally on one of your hosts. However, this database
must contain the names and IP addresses of all the other hosts in your
network.