Networking problems on 386i

[Patrick Champion]

Hi.  I am pretty new to internet and networking PC's and workstations.  I
am also finding the Sun documentation more confusing than helpful. Could
anyone answer some of the following questions.

My current problems are:

1. I am not sure if I have specified the correct name and network domain
   for our 386i.  We are running SunOs 4.0.2.  Pitt has assigned the machine
   the name edc3jr.gsph.pitt.edu and the number 130.49.4.223.  I am uncertain
   if I gave the setup the right info though.  Currently, there is a
   nameserver that runs off of the pitt.edu domain.  It is called
   namsrv.gw.pitt.edu I think.  Currently there are no other machines(all of
   which are PC's) in our office group that is ethernetted.  This will change
   over the next few months probably.  Currently, I have assigned the name
   edc3jr and the domain edc3jr.gsph.pitt.edu to the Sun when it initially
   configures itself.  Actually I ran unconfig, put the sun on a network by
   itself(DESTA box with terminators), rebooted and gave the above name and
   domain, then added a few lines to the /etc/hosts file (unix.cis.pitt.edu
   and namsrv.gs.pitt.  edu with their full number addresses infront of
   them.) Then halted, connected the sun to internet and rebooted.  Even
   though this allows me to telnet out and in, it causes some unusual values
   in /etc/hosts and in snap.  Pitt's big unix computer, a Vax 8800(I think)
   running Ultrix shows long names for all the computers in its hosts file
   including itself.  I.E. unix.cis.pitt.edu, vm1.cis.pitt .edu, etc...  Yet
   my hosts file shows just edc3jr with no gsph.pitt.edu after it.  Snap also
   shows a funny name for the system.  For name it has edc3jr.gsph and 4.223
   and for domain it shows pitt.edu and 130.49.  Is this Right?  If not, what
   should I be entering?

2. Eventually we will hook up other pc to the net.  Should they work on
   some sort of subnet of edc3jr or should they be full internet nodes at the
   same level as the sun?  I.E pc1.gsph.pitt.edu, pc2.gsph.pitt.edu, etc.  Am
   I even making sense here?  Eitherway, does this affect the way I name the
   sun and its domain?

3. Currently, sendmail will only send out some mail but it will not
   receive mail from outside.  What do I need to do to rectify this, create
   certain files, modify the sendmail.cf file, get a new sendmail from uunet
   or what?  

4. Also, currently to allow users to use tcsh I found that if I cut and
   paste user's entry from the /etc/yppasswd file into the /etc/passwd file
   and do a make in /var/yp, that things work and SNAP stays happy.  Before
   when I copied the user over and then deleted him from yppasswd that SNAP
   ceased to be able to create of modify users thereafter.  Am I currently
   doing things the best way?  I know of no chsh that works with yp.

5. Also, is there a newer version of SunOs for the 386i than 4.0.2?

Patrick D. Champion
champion at edc3.gsph.pitt.edu
pdcst at unix.cis.pitt.edu
pchamp at edc3jr.gsph.pitt.edu