Point to point connection is a network connection between 2 machines without a switch in between. Basically, both the ends of the cables are directly inserted into the 2 machines to be connected via p2p.
Advantages of p2p include avoiding routing overhead from the switch, simplicity, and to security.
Configuration is simply:
/sbin/ifconfig <dev> inet <local-host-ip> netmask 255.255.255.0 pointopoint <destination-ip>
For example:
Machine 1
/sbin/ifconfig eth0 inet 192.168.0.10 netmask 255.255.255.0 pointopoint 192.168.0.11
Machine 2
/sbin/ifconfig eth0 inet 192.168.0.11 netmask 255.255.255.0 pointopoint 192.168.0.10
ping 192.168.0.10 # This should work now if your network cable is connected properly
Debug
/sbin/ethtool eth0 # Should show correct speed and link detected should be "yes"
Reference
http://docstore.mik.ua/orelly/networking/tcpip/ch06_01.htm
