7.50 Why is ifconfig giving me errors when I try to configure my LAN?

When I try to configure my lan device on my s700 I get the error
ifconfig: no such interface - why is that?

This is because the interface's hardware state is down. The s700 machines
need to be connected to a network before they can be configured with
ifconfig. Add the s700 machine to the network and then reset the interface
with running /usr/bin/landiag (LAN->RESET). If no errors are reported
then you should be able to ifconfig that interface.

(thanks to Colin Wynd <colin@col.hp.com>)