Q: I have a Cable Modem or DSL connection and I am using a router/sharing device (i.e. Linksys, Netgear, UGate, etc...) to hook up several PCs to my broadband connection. How do I add my Sun box to the network so I can surf the web and check email from it, etc?

A:
NOTE: This solution is assuming you don't have a configured network connection on your computer. It will start you from the very beginning, undoing any configuration that has been previously done. Make sure you're plugged into your hub/router before starting.

SUMMARY:
1) Edit the /etc/hosts, /etc/netmasks and /etc/hostname.hme0 files.
2) Edit /etc/resolv.conf and add your DNS server(s).
3) Edit /etc/defaultrouter and add your router's IP address.
4) Overwrite the /etc/nsswitch.conf file with the /etc/nsswitch.dns file.
5) Restart network services or just reboot the machine.
6) Test the connection.

DETAILED:
You will have to edit various configuration files on your Solaris box. In order to do so, you need to do some preparatory "information gathering" work. Gather the following:
(A) the IP addresses for your ISP's DNS servers
(B) the internal (private) IP address of your sharing device
(C) the IP address range and subnet mask of the machines currently on the network
(D) an unused IP address in that address range

Once you have gathered that information, you can start configuring the connection:

1) Edit the /etc/hosts, /etc/netmasks and /etc/hostname.hme0 files. I've grouped these files together, because they are the files responsible for 'setting up' the network interface itself. After editing just these files in Step 1, you should be able to communicate with other machines on your LAN. The rest of the steps are just required for connecting to the Internet.

First we will edit the /etc/hosts file. Type:
vi /etc/hosts

Edit the file to look like the following:
127.0.0.1 localhost
192.168.0.5 poe loghost

My system's hostname is "poe", you should substitute your system's hostname in place of it. Save the file and quit.

Next we will create the /etc/netmasks file with the necessary configuration information. Type:
echo 192.168.0.0 255.255.255.0 > /etc/netmasks

Finally, we'll create /etc/hostname.hme0 file:
echo poe > /etc/hostname.hme0

Again, remember to use the same hostname as you did in the /etc/hosts file.

2) Edit /etc/resolv.conf and add your DNS server(s). Type:
vi /etc/resolv.conf

The file will probably not exist at this point, so it will be blank. Add your DNS servers, using the following format:
nameserver 12.34.56.78
nameserver 98.76.54.32

Although you can use a single space between the word "nameserver" and the IP address, it is recommended that you use a TAB, for readability. You only need to enter one DNS server. However, if there is ever a problem with that DNS server, your machine will be unable to resolve domain names. It is recommended that you enter at least two DNS servers. Once you have entered this information, save the file and quit.

3) Edit /etc/defaultrouter and add your router's IP address. Type:
vi /etc/defaultrouter

This file will also not exist by default, so it will also be blank. This file should only contain the IP address of your gateway (the sharing device) on a line by itself. The file will look something like this:

192.168.0.1

Save the file and and quit.

4) Overwrite the /etc/nsswitch.conf file with the /etc/nsswitch.dns file. Type:
cp /etc/nsswitch.dns /etc/nsswitch.conf

5) Restart the machine. Type:
init 6

6) After it reboots, test the connection. Type:
ping anysystem.com
ping sunsolve.com

One site or the other (or both) may be down on occasion. If so, test other popular domains, such as yahoo.com, amazon.com, etc. If none of them work, go back and check all the files you have edited to make sure there are no mistakes, such as commas instead of periods, wrong numbers, etc.