Ensure that every interface that is up and connects to a network has a file /etc/hostname.interface file created say /etc/hostname.pcn0 where pcn0 is my network interface. If they are not found the create a file as follows:

solaris10# touch /etc/hostname.pcn0

where pcn0 is my network interface card. 

dhcpagent is the dhcp client thats running on your Solaris operating system. With this in place create the following file:

Create /etc/dhcp.<interface>

Similarly, create a /etc/dhcp.<interface> file (here /etc/hostname.pcn0)

solaris10# touch /etc/dhcp.pcn0

Again, if there are more than one network interface and if each of these receive IP Address from DHCP servers in their networks then a /etc/dhcp.<interface> file has to be created for each of these interfaces.

The system by default waits for 30 seconds for the DHCP Server to respond. However, this can be modified by entering the wait time in the dhcp.<interface> file. For instance, if I decide to let my solaris server wait for 90 seconds  then enter the wait time as follows

solaris10# cat /etc/dhcp.pcn0
wait 90

If it is a primary interface then this can be mentioned as follows

solaris10# cat /etc/dhcp.pcn0
wait 90
primary

This should make your Sun Solaris Server a DHCP client to receive IP Address from a DHCP Server. For more customisation options click here

The DHCP Agent by default requests for the

Subnet Mask

Default Router

Hostname

DNS Domain

Broadcast Address

Encapsulated Vendor Option (vendor specific information as described in RFC 2132)

The DHCP Agent config file is

/etc/default/dhcpagent

In the file look for the line

PARAM_REQUEST_LIST=1,3,6,12,15,28,43

This is the line that defines what is being requested for from the DHCP Server. Here, each number stands for one of the above mentioned parameters where

1 = subnet mask

3 = Default Router

6 = DNS Server

12 = hostname

15 = DNS Domain Name

28 = broadcast address

43 = Encapsulated Vendor options

If you decide to not request for any of the above parameters then all you need to do is to remove the corresponding number from the PARAM_REQUEST_LIST. Let’s say you do not want to request for the hostname then simply remove the number “3″ and the “,” that follows so it looks as follows

PARAM_REQUEST_LIST=1,6,12,15,28,43

Once done,save the file. The next time the system restarts the hostname is not requested for from the DHCP Server.

# hostname
unknown

or the /etc/hosts file has an entry as follows:

# cat /etc/hosts
#
# Internet host table
#
127.0.0.1 localhost
192.168.0.3 unknown # Added by DHCP

This happens when the DHCP server doesn’t provide a hostname for your server. Most of the DHCP Servers or routers acting as a DHCP Server doesn’t provide a hostname and Solaris DHCP agent relies on the DHCP server for its hostname.

To fix this problem, edit the dhcpagent config and set it not to request a Hostname from the DHCP server and then add a hostname to the /etc/hosts & /etc/nodename file.

Edit DHCPAGENT config

[For Solaris 10, this is not required as setting the hostname in /etc/nodename overrides the hostname provided by the DHCP Server. Move onto the next step]

Edit the dhcpagent config file /etc/default/dhcpagent with your favorite editor

# vi /etc/default/dhcpagent

and look for

PARAM_REQUEST_LIST=1,3,6,12,15,28,43

and remove the Parameter “12″ from the above to look as follows:

PARAM_REQUEST_LIST=1,3,6,15,28,43

and save the file.

Now, add the hostname to the /etc/nodename & /etc/hosts as follows

# vi /etc/nodename

and add the hostname you want it to have (solarisserver for me)

# cat /etc/nodename
solarisserver

and edit the /etc/hosts file

# vi /etc/hosts

and add the line similar to the following

192.168.0.3 solarisserver loghost

Now,reboot the server and you should be all fine with hostname set for the system.

# init 6