Subject: Re: BOOTP support (change request)
To: Matthias Drochner <drochner@zelux6.zel.kfa-juelich.de>
From: Curt Sampson <cjs@portal.ca>
List: tech-net
Date: 05/21/1997 12:32:55
On Wed, 21 May 1997, Matthias Drochner wrote:

> > Unfortunately, this means that if you `ifconfig xx0 up' without
> > supplying an address....
> 
> Isn't this bad behaviour of "ifconfig" which should be changed?
> If a user requests to change a flag, just a flag should be affected.

I'm referring to the situation where you have never supplied an
address to the interface.

If an interface already has an address, ifconfig'ing it up will
maintain that address.

Thinking about it, though, your source address for bootp requests
is supposed to be 0.0.0.0 anyway, right? So it makes sense to do
the change the way Gordon requested it, have a different address
(like 255.255.255.255) drop all packets on input, and have that
address be the default until another is assigned.

cjs

Curt Sampson    cjs@portal.ca		Info at http://www.portal.ca/
Internet Portal Services, Inc.		`And malt does more than Milton can
Vancouver, BC   (604) 257-9400		 To justify God's ways to man.'