Subject: Re: address pingable with interface down

From: "Christopher Friesen" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 10 May 2006 17:06:11 -0600

David S. Miller wrote:
> From: Jon DeVree <[email-masked]>

>>I've noticed in the past that the address owned by an interface is
>>still pingable after that interface is brought down.

> People bring this up all the time and this behavior is
> intentional.

> This is becoming a serious FAQ and very tiresome to explain over and
> over again.

Maybe the fact that so may people ask about or are surprised by it is a 
sign that it is counter-intuitive and should perhaps be more fully 
documented?

The fact that "ifconfig" or "ip addr" show IP addresses as specifically 
associated with individual ethernet links may contribute to this 
problem--it sure makes it look like the IP address is an attribute of 
the link rather than the host.

Chris