Configuring a new network interface in OpenBSD

I've never had to configure a network interface in OpenBSD. In all of my installs, I set it up and just left it the way it was.

I've done plenty of configuration-file hacking to get interfaces working in various incarnations of FreeBSD and NetBSD, so I didn't think I'd run into any trouble.

And yet another time, the excellent OpenBSD documentation carried me through.

The information on how to configure a network interface can be found here.

Basically, I used the ifconfig command to figure out what the system was calling my new TrendNET PCMCIA Ethernet card. That would be rl0.

Working as the super user, I created the following file:

/etc/hostname.rl0

I needed a static IP and used vi to write in the following line:

inet 10.0.0.38 255.255.255.0 10.0.0.255

In this case, 10.0.0.38 is my IP address, 255.255.255.0 is the subnet and 10.0.0.255 is the broadcast address. Use your own static IP info to fill in these values.

Create the file /etc/mygate and put your gateway address in it (again, this number is an example; so use your own):

10.0.0.254

Edit the /etc/resolv.conf file (adding your own search domain and nameservers):

search example.com
nameserver 125.2.3.4
nameserver 125.2.3.5
lookup file bind

Then restart the network:

# sh /etc/netstart

The OpenBSD FAQ explains it better than I do, and configuring a network interface for DHCP is even easier.

In my exhaustive and exhausting series on finding an OS for the $15 Laptop, I made extensive mention of the fact that I found OpenBSD under X quite a bit slower than Linux. I can't explain it other than to say that speed is very important on extremely old hardware, and I don't envision myself sticking with OpenBSD, although I'd really like to do so.

And if I could get ACPI fan control working for the $0 Laptop (Gateway Solo 1450), I'd definitely be running OpenBSD on it as well, but I'm afraid that might never happen.

Again, for the umpteenth time, OpenBSD is very fun to play with. The documentation makes it easy to learn, and the packages — of which there are many — are of very high quality.