Installation guide

162 Chapter 12. Network Scripts
• yes — This interface will allow pppd to initiate a connection when someone attempts to use it.
• no — A connection must be manually established for this interface.
• IDLETIMEOUT= value , where value is the number of seconds of idle activity before the
interface will disconnect itself.
• INITSTRING=
string , where string is the initilization string passed to the modem de-
vice. This option is primarily used with SLIP interfaces.
• LINESPEED=
value , where value is the baud rate of the device. Possible standard values
here include 57600, 38400, 19200, and 9600.
• MODEMPORT=
device , where device is the name of the serial device that is used to estab-
lish the connection for the interface.
• MTU=
value , where value is the Maximum Transfer Unit (MTU) setting for the interface.
The MTU refers to the largest number of bytes of data a frame can carry, not counting its header
information. In some dialup situations, setting this to a value of 576 will result in fewer dropped
packets and slightly improve the throughput for a connection.
• NAME=
name , where name is the reference to the title given to a collection of dialup connec-
tion configurations.
• PAPNAME=
name , where name is the username given during the Password Authentication
Protocol (PAP) exchange that occurs to allow you to connect to a remote system.
• PEERDNS=
answer , where answer is one of the following:
• yes — Modify thedd system’s /etc/resolv.conf file entries to use the DNS servers provided
by the remote system when a connection is established.
• no — The /etc/resolv.conf file will not be modified.
• PERSIST=
answer , where answer is one of the following:
• yes — This interface should be kept active at all times, even if deactivated after a modem hang
up.
• no — This interface should not be kept active at all times.
• REMIP=
address , where address is the remote system’s IP address. This is usually left
unspecified.
• WVDIALSECT=
name , where name associates this interface with a dialer configuration in
/etc/wvdial.conf, which contains the phone number to be dialed and other important informa-
tion for the interface.
12.2.3. Other Interfaces
Other common interface configuration files that use these options include ifcfg-lo, which controls
the IP protocol’s local loopback device, ifcfg-irlan0, which arranges settings for the first infrared
device, ifcfg-plip0, which controls the first PLIP device, and ifcfg-tr0, used with the first
Token Ring device.
A local loopback interface is often used in testing, as well as a variety of applications that require an
IP address pointing back to the same system. Any data sent to the loopback device is immediately
returned to the host’s network layer.