2 Configuring the ATM Software

After you install the Digital DGLTA or DGLPB adapter and Digital UNIX ATM subsets, you must configure the software in order to communicate on the ATM network to which the system is connected. The ATM configuration process for both switched virtual circuits (SVCs) and permanent virtual circuits (PVCs) consists of the following steps:

Editing the /etc/atmhosts file
Editing the /etc/hosts file
Editing the /etc/atm.conf file
Setting up addresses on your ATM switch or creating PVC mappings on your ATM switch

This chapter describes the first three steps. The fourth step depends on the type of ATM switch you are using. See your ATM switch documentation for this information.

2.1 Editing the /etc/atmhosts File

You edit the /etc/atmhosts file to add all addresses and services on your ATM network. The /etc/atmhosts file contains mappings of ATM host names to ATM hardware addresses. This file can also contain ATM end system identifiers (ESIs) and full ATM network services access points (NSAPs) for specific services on the ATM network.

Entries in the /etc/atmhosts file can be one of the following:

A comment, denoted by a pound sign (#) as the first character
An address specification

The address specification is similar to that of IP addresses in the /etc/hosts file, and has the following format:

atm_addr hostname [ alias ... ]

The atm_addr parameter can consist of ATM addresses, ESIs, or NSAPs. The following table lists the address type and the number of hexadecimal address digits required for each type:

Address Type Number of Address Digits

ESI Twelve hexadecimal digits

ATM address Thirty-eight hexadecimal digits (obtained by configuring the host interface on the switch)

Full ATM NSAP Forty hexadecimal digits (ATM address and the selector byte)

The hostname parameter can contain any printable character.

The following example shows entries in the /etc/atmhosts file:

08002b2fe740                            myhost.esi  [1]
47840f01020300002122313208002b2fe740    myhost   [2]
47840f01020300002122313208002b2fe7403a  myhost.ip  [3]

Specifies an ESI to use in registering myhost with the switch.
Note
Address registration is not supported in Digital UNIX ATM Version 1.0.
[Return to example]
Specifies the full ATM address of myhost. This is the network prefix and the ESI, and is the address as known by the network. [Return to example]
Specifies the complete NSAP of a service on myhost for the Digital UNIX implementation of RFC 1577, IP over ATM. [Return to example]

2.2 Editing the /etc/hosts File

You edit the /etc/hosts file to add the IP addresses for all ATM hosts that will be on any Logical IP Subnet (LIS) to which the host will connect. Make sure you have the IP addresses for the local host and the ATM Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) server. You can enter these IP addresses either by editing the /etc/hosts file or by running the Network Configuration application of the Common Desktop Environment (CDE) Application manager. See Network Administration for information on the Network Configuration application.

2.3 Editing the /etc/atm.conf File

The /etc/atm.conf file contains all the commands and information necessary to configure the ATM system and to bring up the network interface. After your install the ATM subsets, the ATM configuration file contains the following entries:

print Starting ATM Network
up driver=lta0   [1]
wait state=up driver=lta0  [2]
# wait till address is complete
run /usr/sbin/atmsig up driver=lta0 wait  [3]
run /usr/sbin/atmarp -c lis=0 driver=lta0  [4]
# allow dynamic ESI time to register with switch
sleep 3
# For setting flow control
+vfc driver=lta0
run ifconfig lis0 atmipaddr netmask 255.255.255.0 up  [5]
# For setting a PVC
+pvc driver=lta0 converge=atmip vpi= vci=50  [6]
# For making this a client on a LIS  [7]
run /usr/sbin/atmarp -h lis=0 client atmserver serverip  [8]
print ATM Network started  [9]

Brings the DGLTA driver on line and initiates low-level communications with the ATM switch.
Edit this entry as needed and add entries for each additional interface installed on the system, incrementing the interface number. For example, if another DGLTA adapter is installed on the system, the entry would be as follows:
```
up driver=lta1
```
[Return to example]
Waits for the driver to complete initialization with the switch, delaying startup until the interface is up.
Edit this entry as needed and add entries for each additional interface installed on the system, incrementing the interface number. For example, if another DGLTA adapter is installed on the system, the entry would be as follows:
```
wait state=up driver=lta1
```
[Return to example]
Brings the driver on line and enables signaling on the interface.
Add entries for each additional interface installed on the system, incrementing the interface number. [Return to example]
Creates and attaches the LIS.
Add entries for each LIS connected to the system, incrementing the LIS number. [Return to example]
Configures the LIS.
The LIS entry has the following format:
run ifconfig lis0 atmipaddr netmask ipnetmask up

The atmipaddr is the IP address of the local machine on the ATM LIS and ipnetmask is the LIS netmask to use.
Edit this entry as needed and add entries for each LIS connected to the system, incrementing the LIS number. [Return to example]
If your system is connected to a switch that does not support the Interim Local Management Interface (ILMI), you must configure the same addresses on both the host and the switch. To do this, add entries immediately before this comment line to configure any ATM addresses on the system. These entries have the following format:
+esi driver=lta0 addr=atmaddress

The atmaddress is the name assigned to the address in the /etc/atmhosts file. Alternatively, you can specify the entire 38-digit address. [Return to example]
Sets up PVCs at initialization time, if needed. Each entry has the following format:
+pvc driver=lta0 converge=atmip vpi=0 vci=vc_num

The vc_num option is the virtual channel identifier (VCI) of the PVC.
Edit this entry as needed and add entries for each additional PVC you want to set up. If you are not setting up PVCs, remove this entry or insert a comment character (#) immediately preceding the entry. [Return to example]
Configures the ATM ARP service for client machines. This entry has the following format:
run atmarp -h client atmserver serverip

The atmserver argument is the ATM address of the ATM ARP server, either a host name that appears in the /etc/atmhosts file or a 40-digit ATM address with selector byte. The ARP server must be on the ATM network. The serverip argument is the IP address of the ATM ARP server machine.
For server machines, this entry has the following format:
```
run atmarp -h server
```
Note
If your system is running in a PVC-only environment, do not add any atmarp commands to the file; no ATM ARP configuration is necessary.

Edit this entry as needed. See atmarp(8) for more information. [Return to example]
Depending on your network topology and the number and configuration of LISs in your network, you might need to add static routes to other hosts if either of the following conditions are true:
- Your system is one hop away from another host (via a gateway) over an ATM connection
- Your system is more than one hop away from another host on a network that supports multicast messages (for example, Ethernet, FDDI, Token Ring)
To add a static route to the routing tables, add entries immediately after this comment line. These entries have the following format:
run /usr/sbin/route add -net destination gateway -netmask mask

The destination argument is the IP address of the destination network and the gateway argument is the address of the local LIS.
Add entries for each additional host to which your system needs to communicate. See route(8) for additional information. [Return to example]

After you are done editing the /etc/atm.conf file, enter the following command to start and configure the ATM subsystem:

# atmconfig source

If you have multiple configuration files, you can execute a specific file by entering the following command:

# atmconfig source file=FoNt(CXfile_name

See atmconfig(8) for more information.

Address Type	Number of Address Digits
ESI	Twelve hexadecimal digits
ATM address	Thirty-eight hexadecimal digits (obtained by configuring the host interface on the switch)
Full ATM NSAP	Forty hexadecimal digits (ATM address and the selector byte)