What's 192.168.1.1?

If you’ve ever performed any administrative networking commands on your computer (such as traceroute), you may have noticed the IP 192.168.1.1. You’re not the only one to wonder what this address is used for. In fact, it is used by millions of devices around the world. So just what is it?

The IP 192.168.1.1 is a private address designated for use on routers and other networking devices. Since there are so few IP addresses remaining, the 192.168.x.x block has been designated for private network use. Generally a router on a network will use the 192.168.1.1 address and then assign the rest of the block to other computers– 192.168.253.539, 192.168.1, and so on.

If you have a router at home, type 192.168.1.1 into your browser. It will most likely take you to a control panel for your device. In addition, there is also an IP predominately used by modems: 192.168.100.1.

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The sysconfig directory in Redhat-based Linux

Redhat Enterprise Linux, Fedora, and Centos have a convenient directory called “sysconfig”. It is located under the main /etc directory and contains many of the frequently-used configuration files necessary to operate a server. Often the configuration files are for command line options or very specific settings rather than the complete settings for a particular application.

For example, the httpd file under sysconfig is the configuration for the httpd server rather than Apache as a whole. In it you can set startup options and command flags. Other configuration files include crond (for configuring the crontab frequency), syslog (which configures the system log rotation), and spamassassin (setup for the spam filtering service).

One of the most important folders in sysconfig is “networking“. This is where a user sets up network devices, and devices that are automatically setup appear here as well. You would only need to configure this file if you were running a locally housed server. If your server is remote, this will never need to be changed and attempting to change it could cause you to lose the ability to access the server at all. I recommend browsing through the complete list of files in /etc/sysconfig and at least becoming aware of them, in case you need one of them in the future.

HP buys 3com for $2.7 billion

In a deal that could have far-reaching effects on the data center industry, Hewlett-Packard has bought networking giant 3com for $2.7 billion.

HP’s goal is to combine its extensive range of server offerings with 3com’s networking products. By doing so, it should be able to compete much better against Cisco, a competitor of both companies that produces servers and network hardware as well.

Dave Donatelli, an executive at HP, said the following:

Companies are looking for ways to break free from the business limitations imposed by a networking paradigm that has been dominated by a single vendor. By acquiring 3Com, we are accelerating the execution of our Converged Infrastructure strategy and bringing disruptive change to the networking industry. By combining HP ProCurve offerings with 3Com’s extensive set of solutions, we will enable customers to build a next-generation network infrastructure that supports customer needs from the edge of the network to the heart of the data center.

Expect to see more switches and other networking equipment carry the HP name in the future. This deal was a surprise to many industry insiders.

Source | Data Center Knowledge
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