Network Administration: Linux ifcfg Files

Each Linux network interface has an ifcfg configuration file located in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts. The device name is added to the end of the filename. So, for example, the configuration file for the first Ethernet interface is called ifcfg-eth0.

This file is created and updated by the Network Configuration program, so you don’t have to edit it directly (if you don’t want to).

Here’s a typical ifcfg file for an interface that has a static IP address:

DEVICE=eth0
BOOTPROTO=none
ONBOOT=yes
USERCTL=no
IPADDR=192.168.1.200
NETMASK=255.255.255.0
BROADCAST=192.168.1.255
NETWORK=192.168.1.0

Here’s an example for an interface that uses DHCP:

DEVICE=eth0
BOOTPROTO=dhcp
ONBOOT=yes
USERCTL=no

Here, the ifcfg file doesn’t have to specify the IP address information because the interface gets that information from a DHCP server.

The following paragraphs describe the settings that you’re most likely to see in this file:

• DEVICE: The name of the device, such as eth0 or eth1.

  
  



• USERCTL: Specifies YES or NO to indicate whether local users are allowed to start or stop the network.

  
  



• ONBOOT: Specifies YES or NO to indicate whether the device should be enabled when Linux boots up.

  
  



• BOOTPROTO: Specifies how the device gets its IP address. Possible values are NONE for static assignment, DHCP, or BOOTP.

  
  



• BROADCAST: The broadcast address used to send packets to everyone on the subnet. For example: 192.168.1.255.

  
  



• NETWORK: The network address. For example: 192.168.1.0.

  
  



• NETMASK: The subnet mask. For example: 255.255.255.0.

  
  



• IPADDR: The IP address for the adapter.

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/network-administration-linux-ifcfg-files.html