Changing NIC

[Chris Rees]

2009/5/8 Johan Hendriks <Johan at double-l.nl>:
>>- FreeBSD 7.2-STABLE
>>
>>I am about the change the (working) nic of my FreeBSD server with a
>>gigabit one.
>>Logically I think it would be good to add the new nic first and test it
>>and if it is working, just remove the old one (or leave it without cable).
>>Is that the common way of doing such? Are there disadvantages with that?
>>
>>Jos Chrispijn
>
> The only thing need to change is the line ifconfig_(interface_name)="xxx.xxx ...... in the file /etc/rc.conf If the server can be offline for some time, install the new NIC and remove the old one.
> Then look in dmesg what name the new nic has, like bge0 or em0 or something like that.
> Edit your /etc/rc.conf file so the line ifconfig_ has your new nic module name, like ifconfig_em0= and restart the network with /etc/netstart If all is working a final reboot and all should be OK
>
> Regards,
> Johan
>
>

To be honest, it should be OK even without the final reboot.

Johan, is there a reason you prefer /etc/netstart rather than
/etc/rc.d/netif restart? Are they equivalent, or is netstart 'better'
for any reason?

Chris

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