Solaris Troubleshooting : Find Network Interface names that are available but not plumbed

The command ‘ifconfig -a‘ will find system network interfaces that have been configured on boot, but it is difficult to find the interfaces that may be ‘sleeping’ . We normally  trace the name by searching thru dmesg, prtconf, or /etc/path_to_inst

Instead we can use a  great time saver command which can also serve as a troubleshooting tool.

When changing nics or network cards, or looking for interfaces you need to plumb up, it is often necessary to bring up the interface manually. However interface names vary, especially with x86 thrown into the mix, and its not easy determining whether it might be ‘eri’, or on x86, ‘elxl’ or something else unfamiliar.

Run the command :      #   ifconfig -a plumb

to configure interfaces not yet configured or displayed by the common ‘ifconfig -a’ command, or when an interface name is unknown.