SLP Configuration Considerations

The SLP daemon is preconfigured with default properties. If your enterprise functions well with default settings, the SLP deployment requires virtually no administration.

In some situations, however, you might want to modify the SLP properties to tune network operations or to activate certain features. With a few configuration changes you can enable SLP logging, for example. The information in a SLP log and in snoop traces can then help you decide if additional configuration is necessary.

SLP configuration properties reside in the slp.conf file, which is located in the /etc/inet directory. If you decide to change the default property settings, refer to Chapter 9, Administering SLP (Tasks) for the appropriate procedures.

Before you modify SLP configuration settings, consider the following questions that are related to key aspects of network administration:

• What network technologies are operating in the enterprise?

• How much network traffic can the technologies handle smoothly?

• How many services, of what type, are available on the network?

• How many users are on the network? What services do they require? Where are users located in relation to their most frequently accessed services?

Deciding What to Reconfigure

You can use the SLP-enabled snoop utility and SLP logging utilities to decide if reconfiguration is necessary and what properties you need to modify. For example, you might reconfigure certain properties to do the following:

• Accommodate a mix of network media that have varying latencies and bandwidth characteristics

• Recover the enterprise from network failures or unplanned partitioning

• Add DAs to reduce proliferation of SLP multicasts

• Implement new scopes to organize users with their most frequently accessed services