Help getting Linux connected to the net!

[Neuro7]

Hello,
I am new to Linux/Unix, and I need some help! I have 2 computers, one with windows on it that I am sending this message with and one that I have installed Mandrake Linux 8.0 on. I have cable modem access to the net and am not sure how to get it to work on my Linux box. I have ethernet cards in both computers, but not sure how to start to get my Linux box on the net. I want to make the switch over to Linux/Unix, but I am not yet familiar enough with the workings of *nix to drop the windows crap yet. Yes, I don't like the shit that windows puts out, but like I said, I am a newbie to *nix and I need some help so that I can eventually break free from Microshit. Any help switching over would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Neuro7

[Centurian]

quote:Originally posted by Neuro7:
Hello,
I am new to Linux/Unix, and I need some help! I have 2 computers, one with windows on it that I am sending this message with and one that I have installed Mandrake Linux 8.0 on. I have cable modem access to the net and am not sure how to get it to work on my Linux box. I have ethernet cards in both computers, but not sure how to start to get my Linux box on the net. I want to make the switch over to Linux/Unix, but I am not yet familiar enough with the workings of *nix to drop the windows crap yet. Yes, I don't like the shit that windows puts out, but like I said, I am a newbie to *nix and I need some help so that I can eventually break free from Microshit. Any help switching over would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Neuro7

Hey Neuro7,

I have a simular setup and have no problems getting on the web. You do have to know what your   Local IP address of your machine is but since you are running windows on the machine that connects to the web I can help.

I assume you are using Windows ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) if not then you should install it on the windows machine.

First you need to know your ISP's DNS numbers (Domain Name Server). You can call them and ask them or you can get a program called ICS Configuration and install it on the Windows Machine. It will tell you the DNS numbers that your ISP (Internet Service Provider) uses.

Once3 you know what these numbers are then boot Mandrake Linux and go into the Mandrake Control Center. (It will prompt for your superuser password for root access). Choose Network & Internet. Then choose Connection. Near the bottom of the screen you will see a button called Configure. Click it that will start the wizard. Make sure Auto detection is turned on (the little square pushed in) then click next.  Since you are connecting through your network to your cable modem you need to choose LAN Connection - Ethernet cards detected. Click next.
Then it will tell you it is going to configure your network so click next again. Now you should see a screen that is asking for your IP Address. This is the IP addy of the linux machine. Choose any number from 192.168.0.2 to 192.168.0.254. (DO NOT USE 192.168.0.1 because Windows uses that as its base server machine.) Then where it asks for net mask put 255.255.255.0.
I suggest you do not use Dhcp it has not worked for me but if it does work it will automatically pick up you DNS numbers. Unfortunately I find it only picks up the windows machine.  
Click Next. It will now ask for the name of your linux computer put whatever you want there but put in some name. Below that it asks for your DNS Server put the first number that your ISP gives you there they will usually give you 2. The next line asks for Gateway put 192.168.0.1 in there. That is the number of your windows machine. Click Next It will then ask you if it can restart your network say yes and follow the prompts and you should be done. Then you should be able to connect to the internet with no problems.

Later
Centurian

[Centurian]

Hey,

I forgot to add that you may have to reboot Linux before it will work correctly. Don't just logout REBOOT.

Later
Centurian

[Neuro7]

Thanks for your help Centurian, I will try that later. I don't have time now, have to go to work. Also, how do I get Linux to see the floppy drive so that I can load the proper drivers for the ethernet card? I have tried different things and have had no success so far. Also, I would like to mention I have both of my computers connected to a switch, I am planning on getting a router later, just wanted to get Linux up and working first and get familiar with it.
Thanks,
Neuro7

[Centurian]

quote:Originally posted by Neuro7:
Thanks for your help Centurian, I will try that later. I don't have time now, have to go to work. Also, how do I get Linux to see the floppy drive so that I can load the proper drivers for the ethernet card? I have tried different things and have had no success so far. Also, I would like to mention I have both of my computers connected to a switch, I am planning on getting a router later, just wanted to get Linux up and working first and get familiar with it.
Thanks,
Neuro7

Hey,
The floppy should be mounted. If you are using KDE as your desktop just click on the home icon. That will bring up konqueror. Then you can move to the root directory. then to the /mnt directory.
In it you will find a directory called floppy that will be your floppy directory. If it isn't mounted then click on the floppy icon that should mount it.

Hmmm since the internet is running on a switch you would probably use the cable option instead of the lan option but I am not sure if that it correct.

I am very new to Mandrake myself.

Later
Centurian

[Neuro7]

Thanks for your help Centurian. I still am unable to get on the net with my Linux box. I am not sure what I am doing wrong. I checked and verified that I have the proper driver loaded for my ethernet card and Linux is seeing it no problem. Could you walk me through how to connect it to the net going straight through my cable modem? I think I am getting something in the configuration wrong. Just for info, on a windows box you can open the start window, then RUN and type in winipcfg and it will give you the DNS server address and IP address and Gateway info. I also have the setup info from my isp for the DNS servers. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Neuro7

[voidmain]

quote:Originally posted by Neuro7:
Thanks for your help Centurian. I still am unable to get on the net with my Linux box. I am not sure what I am doing wrong. I checked and verified that I have the proper driver loaded for my ethernet card and Linux is seeing it no problem. Could you walk me through how to connect it to the net going straight through my cable modem? I think I am getting something in the configuration wrong. Just for info, on a windows box you can open the start window, then RUN and type in winipcfg and it will give you the DNS server address and IP address and Gateway info. I also have the setup info from my isp for the DNS servers. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Neuro7

Does your cable modem support standard DHCP or do you have one of those PPOE type of Cable connections?  If it is standard DHCP you should be able to just configure your ethernet interface for DHCP and it should pick up the appropriate addresses.  If you are using a static IP address make sure you also set the proper gateway address (default router).

Once you do this could you post the out put from the "/sbin/ifconfig -a" command?  And from a "netstat -rn" command?  And send a copy of what is in your /etc/resolv.conf file?

Also, if you could temporarily hook up your windows machine and run the "winipcfg /all" command (assuming you are on Win9x, if not use the "ipconfig /all" command under NT/2k).  Post all the IP information from these commands and I think we can figure out where you are going wrong.

[Neuro7]

VoidMain,
Thanks for your response and your help, I am very busy right now and haven't had a chance to try out your suggestions. I am hopeing that over the weekend I can try out your suggestions and get my Linux box on the net. I am really excited to switch over to Linux and getting it on the net is very inportant to me. I really appreciate your help and the help of anyone else. I have read some of your posts helping others and am glad that you are here to help.

Thanks again,
Neuro7

[Neuro7]

VoidMain,

Here is the information that you asked me to post:
output from /sbin/ifconfig -a:
eth0   Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr:00:04:5A:53:A3:AF inet addr:24.159.189.118 Bcast:24.159.189.255 Mask:255.255.255.0 UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:496 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:214 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:100
RX bytes:34772 (33.9Kb) TX bytes:12564 (12.2Kb)
Interrupt:9 Base address:0xfc00

lo
Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:147 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:147 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:14032 (13.7Kb) TX bytes:14302 (13.7Kb)

When I try running the /etc/resolv.conf I get permission denied, I tried while logged in as root.

Here is the output of the netstat -rn on Windows box:
Route table
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interface List
0x1.....MS TCP Loopback interface
0x2.....44 45 53 54 00 00 ......PPP Adapter.
0x3.....00 03 6d 1c bc 1e ......Network Everywhere Fast Ethernet Adadpter NDIS5 Driver
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Active Routes:
Network Destination  Netmask
0.0.0.0              0.0.0.0
24.159.189.0         255.255.255.0
24.159.189.118       255.255.255.255
24.255.255.255       255.255.255.255
127.0.0.1            255.0.0.0
224.0.0.0            224.0.0.0
255.255.255.255      255.255.255.255
Gateway         Interface        Metric
24.159.189.1    24.159.189.118        1
24.159.189.118  24.159.189.118        1
127.0.0.1       127.0.0.1             1
24.159.189.118  24.159.189.118        1
127.0.0.1       127.0.0.1             1
24.159.189.118  24.159.189.118        1
24.159.189.118  2                     1
Default Gateway:24.159.189.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Persistent Routes:
  None

Active Connections

Proto Local Address        Foreign Address
TCP   24.159.189.118:1036  205.188.7.148:5190
State
ESTABLISHED

netstat -rn on Linux box:
Kernal IP routing table
Destination   Gateway       Genmask
24.159.189.0  0.0.0.0       255.255.255.0
127.0.0.0     0.0.0.0       255.0.0.0
0.0.0.0       24.159.189.1  0.0.0.0
Flags         MSS Window    irtt Iface
U              40 0            0 eth0
U              40 0            0 lo
UG             40 0            0 eth0

winipcfg /all:
Host Information
Host Name: TAJELA.chartertn.net
DNS Servers: 24.159.191.6
Node Type: Broadcast
NetBIOS Scope Id:
IP Routing Enabled:    WINS Proxy Enabled:
NetBIOS Resolution Uses DNS:
Ethernet Adapter Information
Network Everywhere Fast Ethernet
Adapter Address: 00-03-6D-1C-BC-1E
IP Address: 24.159.189.118
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 24.159.189.1
DHCP Server: 24.159.191.5
Primary WINS Server:
Secondary WINS Server:
Lease Obtained: 01 13 02 2:34:48 PM
Lease Expires: 01 13 02 10:34:48 PM

Thanks,
Neuro7

[voidmain]

quote:Originally posted by Neuro7:
VoidMain,
When I try running the /etc/resolv.conf I get permission denied, I tried while logged in as root.

The routing tables look good and I would be willing to bet you can "ping" outside machines, however I bet your DNS is not configured properly.  "/etc/resolv.conf" is not a command but a file where DNS is configured. RedHat will automatically set this file up when using DHCP, but for some reason it appears your Mandrake distro may not have.  As root, open that file in your favorite editor (kedit, gedit, vi, etc). For your configuration it should look like this:

Code: [Select]

or:

Code: [Select]

You should also be able to put these settings in using Mandrakes graphical network configuration tool (whatever that may be) but it will do the same thing you are doing by performing my procedures above. You do not need to reboot to make the changes active (you really don't need to reboot for anything except installing a new kernel).

Even without setting up your DNS you should be able to ping IP addresses.

Example, try to ping your gateway:
ping 24.159.189.1

You should get a reply, if you do not we still have work to do.

Try and ping google by:
ping 216.239.33.101

If you do have basic networking working (you can ping by address) but you do not have DNS working (can not ping by name) there is one more file we can look at that may be configured wrong "/etc/nsswitch.conf" but I think you should have it working after setting up resolv.conf.  Let me know.

[Neuro7]

In my /etc/resolv.conf file I have:
domain 24.159.189.1
search net
name server 24.159.191.6

When I try the ping 24.159.189.1 I get Destination Host Unreachable. Same thing with the google address.

Thanks,
Neuro7

[voidmain]

Also, if this fixes your problem I notice you have this machine hooked up directly to your cable modem.  It would be wise to turn off all unnecessary services and configure your firewall in Linux (I don't know what firewall method Mandrake uses but it would use one of a few like "ipchains").

I personally have a machine dedicated to serving as a router/firewall/proxy/VPN.  It's just an old P100 running RedHat 6.2, ipchains, Squid, and FreeS/WAN IPSEC VPN software.  I put two network cards in the machine, one connected to the Cable Modem and the other connected to my inside network.  That way I don't have to be too concerned about security on my inside machines.

It works great because I block outgoing web access at the firewall and force any web traffic through my proxy server.  I am pretty Nazi about where I let my kids surf so whenever you pop up a web browser on one of my machines the proxy server prompts for a username and password.  Browsing to sites are granted or rejected based on the username/password supplied.  The proxy also filters out banner advertisements and tracking counters etc from any web site that is visited.  I replace the adds with a graphic that says "Ad removed by VoidMain".  Life is good.

And with the VPN software, my partners home networks show up as part of my network.  I can see all of their home machines on my network as if they were a part of it.  Works pretty slick, and it was all free.  There are some good hardware devices that will do the VPN part but they are rather expensive. Might as well use Linux for this.

[voidmain]

quote:Originally posted by Neuro7:
In my /etc/resolv.conf file I have:
domain 24.159.189.1
search net
name server 24.159.191.6

When I try the ping 24.159.189.1 I get Destination Host Unreachable. Same thing with the google address.

Thanks,
Neuro7

"nameserver" should not have a space in it, however, it should not have anything to do with you not being able to ping your gateway by address, which would mean you would certainly not be able to get beyond your gateway.  Can you even ping the local IP address that DHCP gave your machine?

Try and ping the "inet address" from the "/sbin/ifconfig eth0" command.  In order for your machine to have even received it's DHCP configuration it would have been able to communicate with the DHCP server.  I am really confused as to why you can not ping your gateway because your IP configuration and routing table appears to be set up correctly.  The only other thing I can think of is the DHCP server gave out your same address to someone else which would cause a conflict. IP addresses are unique and there can't be two of the same IP address on the network at the same time, only one will be able to talk.

What output do you get from the "/sbin/arp -a" command?  Damn, this is a good one and I was certain you were going to be up and running after that last post.  I am really sorry it hasn't worked out.  Wish I could get my hands on your machine and trouble-shoot the problem. It's much tougher trying to doing it through a BBS system...

I had a similar problem when trying out a NetScreen 5 VPN box on Charter's cable network. The box would get a DHCP configuration but it would not talk to the network.  I worked for a week with the Netscreen and the Charter engineers and it just wouldn't work.  Something proprietary about Charter's network must have been causing the problem because I could set up a test network and it would work just fine.  Hook it straight up to the cable modem and no packets will get through.  But like I said, I have a RedHat box connected directly to the cable modem on Charter's network and it works fine.

Hmmmmm, running out of ideas, other than maybe hooking up a 4 port LinkSys cable/DSL router/firewall for about $100.  These devices do work on Charter's network and it will also provide a web based firewall and you can hook both your Windows machine and your Linux machine up to it and it should work.  The LinkSys box is also a DHCP server so it will provide your inside machines off-net addresses.

[Neuro7]

I pingged the inet address from the /sbin/ifconfig eth0 and it worked with no problems. When I try the /sbin/arp -a command, the 1st time I got:
? (24.159.189.1) at 00:59:73:01:44:54 [ether] on eth0
I tried it again and got:
? (24.159.189.1) at <incomplete> on eth0

I also checked the "nameserver" in /etc/resolv.conf and it is one word, I made a typo in my last post. As of now I am still no go on the net.

As for the Linksys cable/dsl router 4-port switch firewall, that was exactly what I was looking at getting, I just havn't broken down and purchased it yet.

I thank you very much for your time and help VoidMain, there are so many others out there that just flame and put down newbies which makes it tough for newbies to switch over to a Linux/Unix/BSD type OS.

Thanks,
Neuro7

[voidmain]

One more thing.  What exactly is the make/model of Ethernet card you have in your Mandrake box?  I'll search the net and see if there are any issues with Mandrake 8.0 and the driver/card you are using.  It's possible there is an intermittent issue with your network card.  I would think you would see some error messages in your log files though (/var/log/messages).