Assuming an already configured machine named tristan, let's look at the IP addressing and routing table. Next we'll examine how the machine communicates with computers (hosts) on the locally reachable network. We'll then send packets through our default gateway to other networks. After learning what a default route is, we'll look at a static route.
One of the first things to learn about a machine attached to an IP network is its IP address. We'll begin by looking at a machine named tristan on the main desktop network (192.168.99.0/24).
The machine tristan is alive on IP 192.168.99.35 and has been properly configured by the system administrator. By examining the route and ifconfig output we can learn a good deal about the network to which tristan is connected [1].
Example 1.1. Sample ifconfig output
[root@tristan]# ifconfig
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:80:C8:F8:4A:51
inet addr:192.168.99.35 Bcast:192.168.99.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:27849718 errors:1 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:29968044 errors:5 dropped:0 overruns:2 carrier:3
collisions:0 txqueuelen:100
RX bytes:943447653 (899.7 Mb) TX bytes:2599122310 (2478.7 Mb)
Interrupt:9 Base address:0x1000
lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:7028982 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:7028982 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:1206918001 (1151.0 Mb) TX bytes:1206918001 (1151.0 Mb)
[root@tristan]# route -n
Kernel IP routing table
Destination Gateway Genmask Flags Metric Ref Use Iface
192.168.99.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 eth0
127.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 255.0.0.0 U 0 0 0 lo
0.0.0.0 192.168.99.254 0.0.0.0 UG 0 0 0 eth0
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For the moment, ignore the loopback interface (lo) and concentrate on the Ethernet interface. Examine the output of the ifconfig command. We can learn a great deal about the IP network to which we are connected simply by reading the ifconfig output. For a thorough discussion of ifconfig, see Section C.1, “ifconfig”.
The IP address active on tristan is 192.168.99.35. This means that any IP packets created by tristan will have a source address of 192.168.99.35. Similarly any packet received by tristan will have the destination address of 192.168.99.35. When creating an outbound packet tristan will set the destination address to the server's IP. This gives the remote host and the networking devices in between these hosts enough information to carry packets between the two devices.
Because tristan will advertise that it accepts packets with a destination address of 192.168.99.35, any frames (packets) appearing on the Ethernet bound for 192.168.99.35 will reach tristan. The process of communicating the ownership of an IP address is called ARP. Read Section 2.1.1, “Overview of Address Resolution Protocol” for a complete discussion of this process.
This is fundamental to IP networking. It is fundamental that a host be able to generate and receive packets on an IP address assigned to it. This IP address is a unique identifier for the machine on the network to which it is connected.
Common traffic to and from machines today is unicast IP traffic. Unicast traffic is essentially a conversation between two hosts. Though there may be routers between them, the two hosts are carrying on a private conversation. Examples of common unicast traffic are protocols such as HTTP (web), SMTP (sending mail), POP3 (fetching mail), IRC (chat), SSH (secure shell), and LDAP (directory access). To participate in any of these kinds of traffic, tristan will send and receive packets on 192.168.99.35.
In contrast to unicast traffic, there is another common IP networking technique called broadcasting. Broadcast traffic is a way of addressing all hosts in a given network range with a single destination IP address. To continue the analogy of the unicast conversation, a broadcast is more like shouting in a room. Occasionally, network administrators will refer to broadcast techniques and broadcasting as "chatty network traffic".
Broadcast techniques are used at the Ethernet layer and the IP layer, so the cautious person talks about Ethernet broadcasts or IP broadcast. Refer to Section 2.1.1, “Overview of Address Resolution Protocol”, for more information on a common use of broadcast Ethernet frames.
IP Broadcast techniques can be used to share information with all partners on a network or to discover characteristics of other members of a network. SMB (Server Message Block) as implemented by Microsoft products and the samba package makes extensive use of broadcasting techniques for discovery and information sharing. Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) also makes use of broadcasting techniques to manage IP addressing.
The IP broadcast address is, usually, correctly derived from the IP address and network mask although it can be easily be set explicitly to a different address. Because the broadcast address is used for autodiscovery (e.g, SMB under some protocols, an incorrect broadcast address can inhibit a machine's ability to participate in networked communication [2].
The netmask on the interface should match the netmask in the routing table for the locally connected network. Typically, the route and the IP interface definition are calculated from the same configuration data so they should match perfectly.
If you are at all confused about how to address a network or how to read either the traditional notation or the CIDR notation for network addressing, see one of the CIDR/netmask references in Section I.1.3, “General IP Networking Resources”.
We can see from the output above that the IP address 192.168.99.35 falls inside the address space 192.168.99.0/24. We also note that the machine tristan will route packets bound for 192.168.99.0/24 directly onto the Ethernet attached to eth0. This line in the routing table identifies a network available on the Ethernet attached to eth0 ("Iface") by its network address ("Destination") and size ("Genmask").
Destination Gateway Genmask Flags Metric Ref Use Iface
192.168.99.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 eth0
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Every host on the 192.168.99.0/24 network should share the network address and netmask specified above. No two hosts should share the same IP address.
Currently, there are two hosts connected to the example desktop network. Both tristan and masq-gw are connected to 192.168.99.0/24. Thus, 192.168.99.254 (masq-gw) should be reachable from tristan. Success of this test provides evidence that tristan is configured properly. N.B., Assume that the network administrator has properly configured masq-gw. Since the default gateway in any network is an important host, testing reachability of the default gateway also has a value in determining the proper operation of the local network.
The ping tool, designed to take advantage of Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), can be used to test reachability of IP addresses. For a command summary and examples of the use of ping, see Section G.1, “ping”.
Example 1.2. Testing reachability of a locally connected host with ping
[root@tristan]# ping -c 1 -n 192.168.99.254
PING 192.168.99.254 (192.168.99.254) from 192.168.99.35 : 56(84) bytes of data.
--- 192.168.99.254 ping statistics ---
1 packets transmitted, 0 packets received, 100% packet loss
PING 192.168.99.254 (192.168.99.254) from 192.168.99.35 : 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 192.168.99.254: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=238 usec
--- 192.168.99.254 ping statistics ---
1 packets transmitted, 1 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/mdev = 0.238/0.238/0.238/0.000 ms
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In Section 1.2.1, “Sending Packets to the Local Network”, we verified that hosts connected to the same local network can reach each other and, importantly, the default gateway. Now, let's see what happens to packets which have a destination address outside the locally connected network.
Assuming that the network administrator allows ping packets from the desktop network into the public network, ping can be invoked with the record route option to show the path the packet travels from tristan to wan-gw and back.
Example 1.3. Testing reachability of non-local hosts
[root@tristan]# ping -R -c 1 -n 205.254.211.254 PING 205.254.211.254 (205.254.211.254) from 192.168.99.35 : 56(84) bytes of data. --- 205.254.211.254 ping statistics --- 1 packets transmitted, 0 packets received, 100% packet loss PING 205.254.211.254 (205.254.211.254) from 192.168.99.35 : 56(84) bytes of data. 64 bytes from 205.254.211.254: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=238 usec RR: 192.168.99.35 |
By testing reachability of the local network 192.168.99.0/24 and an IP address outside our local network, we have verified the basic elements of IP connectivity.
To summarize this section, we have:
identified the IP address, network address and netmask in use on tristan using the tools ifconfig and route
verified that tristan can reach its default gateway
tested that packets bound for destinations outside our local network reach the intended destination and return
Static routes instruct the kernel to route packets for a known destination host or network to a router or gateway different from the default gateway. In the example network, the desktop machine tristan would need a static route to reach hosts in the 192.168.98.0/24 network. Note that the branch office network is reachable over an ISDN line. The ISDN router's IP in tristan's network is 192.168.99.1. This means that there are two gateways in the example desktop network, one connected to a small branch office network, and the other connected to the Internet.
Without a static route to the branch office network, tristan would use masq-gw as the gateway, which is not the most efficient path for packets bound for morgan. Let's examine why a static route would be better here.
If tristan generates a packet bound for morgan and sends the packet to the default gateway, masq-gw will forward the packet to isdn-router as well as generate an ICMP redirect message to tristan. This ICMP redirect message tells tristan to send future packets with a destination address of 192.168.98.82 (morgan) directly to isdn-router. For a fuller discussion of ICMP redirect, see Section 4.10.2, “ICMP Redirects and Routing”.
The absence of a static route has caused two extra packets to be generated on the Ethernet for no benefit. Not only that, but tristan will eventually expire the temporary route entry [3] for 192.168.98.82, which means that subsequent packets bound for morgan will repeat this process [4].
To solve this problem, add a static route to tristan's routing table. Below is a modified routing table (see Section 1.3, “Changing IP Addresses and Routes” to learn how to change the routing table).
Example 1.4. Sample routing table with a static route
[root@tristan]# route -n
Kernel IP routing table
Destination Gateway Genmask Flags Metric Ref Use Iface
192.168.99.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 eth0
192.168.98.0 192.168.99.1 255.255.255.0 UG 0 0 0 eth0
127.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 255.0.0.0 U 0 0 0 lo
0.0.0.0 192.168.99.254 0.0.0.0 UG 0 0 0 eth0
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According to this routing table, any packets with a destination address in the 192.168.98.0/24 network will be routed to the gateway 192.168.99.1 instead of the default gateway. This will prevent unnecessary ICMP redirect messages.
These are the basic tools for inspecting the IP address and the routes on a linux machine. Understanding the output of these tools will help you understand how machines fit into simple networks, and will be a base on which you can build an understanding of more complex networks.
[1] For BSD and UNIX users, the idiom netstat -rn may be more familiar than the common route -n on a linux machine. Both of these commands provide the same basic information although the formatting is a bit different. For a fuller discussion of these, see either Section G.4, “netstat” or Section D.1, “route”. For access to all of the routing features of the linux kernel, use ip route instead.
[2] An incorrect broadcast address often highlights a mismatch of the configured IP address and netmask on an interface. If in doubt, be sure to use an IP calculator to set the correct netmask and broadcast addresses.
[3] If the machine is a linux machine, then the temporary route entry is stored in the routing cache. Consult Section 4.7, “Routing Cache” for more information on the routing cache.
[4] It is quite reasonable to ignore ICMP redirect messages from unknown hosts on the Internet, but ICMP redirect messages on a LAN indicate that a host has mismatched netmasks or missing static routes.