How Reactive Network Profiles Work

The system provides the Automatic NCP and the Automatic Location profile, as the default reactive profiles. These profiles perform the basic configuration of your wired or wireless networking automatically, without any user interaction. The only time you are required to interact with reactive networking is if you are prompted by the system for more information, for example, to provide a security key or password for a wireless network.

The automatic or reactive network configuration is triggered by the following events and activities:

• Connecting or disconnecting an Ethernet cable

• Connecting or disconnecting a WLAN card

• Booting a system when a wired interface, a wireless interface, or both, is available

• Resuming from suspend when a wired interface, a wireless interface, or both, is available (if supported)

• Acquiring or losing a DHCP lease

To perform the basic configuration of your network automatically, the Automatic NCP implements the following basic policy:

• Configure all available (connected) Ethernet interfaces by using DHCP.

• If no Ethernet interfaces are connected, or if none can obtain an IP address, enable one wireless interface, automatically connecting to the best available WLAN from the Known WLAN list. Alternatively, wait for the user to select a wireless network to connect to.

• Until at least one IPv4 address has been obtained, keep the NoNet location active. This Location profile provides a strict set of IP Filter rules that only pass data that is relevant to IP address acquisition (DHCP and IPv6 autoconf messages). All of the properties of the NoNet location, with the exception of the activation conditions, can be modified.

• When at least one IPv4 address has been assigned to one of the system's interfaces, activate the Automatic location. This Location profile has no IP Filter or IPsec rules. The Location profile applies the domain name system (DNS) configuration data that is obtained from the DHCP server. As with the NoNet location, all of the properties of the Automatic location, with the exception of its activation conditions, can be modified.

• Always apply the NoNet location when the system has no IPv4 addresses assigned to it. When at least one IPv4 address is assigned, select the Location profile with the activation rules that best match the current network conditions. In the absence of a better match, fall back to the Automatic location.

For more information, see Profile Activation Policy.

For more information about how to administer the DHCP service to automatically configure the network, see Working With DHCP in Oracle Solaris 11.1.