Routed daemon configuration 11.. TTaasskkss Many IP networks will operate very well with static routes. A LAN with a single gateway will be happy with one default route pointing to the gateway. On the other end, some networks interconnect with many simpler networks, and so have many gateways (routers). Unlike simpler networks, where a single default route is enough for all machines (except maybe the gateway), all computers on those complex networks will need a method to find their way through all the available gateways. Enter dynamic routing and routed. 22.. rroouutteedd aanndd RRIIPP Dynamic routing is a complex subject. Many protocols exist to exchange routes between IP hosts. Many of these protocols involve some notion of security (specifying which machines are allowed to tell a host new routes). This is not the case with routed. It uses a fairly simple protocol in which every host is allowed to tell every other host about the routes it knows. Using a simple metric scheme, one is able to locate the best (or the real) route to a given network. This is what RIP gives you. routed implements the RIP protocol. You have three controllable options: +o Do you want to activate routed? +o Do you want your routed to talk or only to listen? If your computer has only one interface (a single Ethernet adapter for example), routed won't have anything to say anyway. If you have more than one interface, but don't want to be known as a router, then this option is also for you. +o If your machine is a router, you may have set a default route on it. This default route may be mistakenly taken as "the" default route for the entire network. You are allowed to hide this route from the network. 33.. SSttaattee ooff rroouutteedd routed is not known to be very reliable on _L_i_n_u_x. gated is often a preferred solution, especially if you are concerned with security. You have much better control over which routes are exported and accepted. gated does much more than the RIP protocol. At this point, _L_i_n_u_x_c_o_n_f knows how to start/restart/kill gated but not much else. The magic of /etc/gated.conf is left as an exercise for the reader.