Redhat 7, KDE DHCP fun

[roofus_T_4fly]

Forgive my lack of knowledge, but this is why I am here....

I have finally decided to sit down and learn linux. I am VERY impressed so far! Everything is going well, as there is MUCH help to be found!

That being said, I am stuck. I have Redhat 7 installed (not for any particular reason, other than I had to start somewhere!). I am running KDE, as Gnome seemed to be a bit slow on my system. I would like to simply get networking up and running, but my first step (I thought) would be to get internet working.

I have a 3com 3c905B NIC. I have it set up as DCHP (as everything else on the network (all windows boxes, sorry) are set up the same way.

If I go to a terminal and type netcfg, I can look and ensure that DHCP is selected, but device eth0 (only NIC in system) shows no IP address. If I do a ifconfig, it shows that I am assigned
a proper IP for my network. Is this normal, or should I see an IP listed in netcfg?

Next, I can ping any IP on the network, however, I can not ping by host name. Also, in Netscape, I can not pull up a web page. I know that this suggests a DNS issue, but interestingly, I can put the IP of a web page in, and it will start to pull up the page, then crap out on me. What am I missing?

Third question--Is there a keyboard shortcut in KDE to bring up the menu, and what is it called (would be the start menu in Windows)? I HATE using the mouse all of the time!

As I would imagine that others have had the same question, please feel free to direct me to other threads if needed.

Thank you very much for your help.

[Luigi]

1) netconfig is a configurator program for your net cards. it allows you to MANUALLY assign ips, or just tell it to try dhcp. it will not resolve the dhcp address for you. something like the 'tcp/ip properties' dialogue box in windows.
ifconfig is different - it's like "ipconfig" in NT based windows. it allows you to view assigned ip addresses and to give commands to adaptors (release, renew, stop, start). you CAN actually assign ips using ifconfig as well, but it's a ***** to deal with the command line syntax, so you're best to stick with netconfig.

2) Next, I can ping any IP on the network, however, I can not ping by host name.
that's because in windows, your host name is actually your NETBIOS name. it's used only in NETBIOS networking. your 'real' hostname is typically assigned by dhcp. ie on a shaw @home box, the computer's name might be set to ralph, but the system's tcp/ip hostname will be sc2019234.vc.shawcable.net . since linux only recognizes the 'real' hostname, it can't ping that way.
(if you install the SAMBA package, you will be able to connect to a windows network... but you still won't be able to ping by NETBIOS name)

3) Also, in Netscape, I can not pull up a web page. I know that this suggests a DNS issue, but interestingly, I can put the IP of a web page in, and it will start to pull up the page, then crap out on me. What am I missing?

to check your dns - nslookup www.msn.com . if it finds you an IP address, your DNS is working fine. if it tells you that the server is unreachable, it's talking about your DNS server. that's your ISP's problem.
if you put in an IP address for a webpage, i'll bet it manages to load only the text, right? that's because within webpages, many image links etc are made using full paths, ie including server hostnames. so if i want to embed a picture, the webpage will refer to it as www.luigi.com/pictures/picture.jpg . and your computer, lacking DNS, will crap out.

4) Third question--Is there a keyboard shortcut in KDE to bring up the menu, and what is it called (would be the start menu in Windows)? I HATE using the mouse all of the time!
yes. when you first started xwindows, it would have walked you through the desktop settings wizard. if you're used to windows, i'd bet you selected the most "windows-like" options you could. good man. use the windows key (between Ctrl and Alt on the left hand side of post-1995 keyboards), or Ctrl+Esc to access the K menu.

Good Luck!

[Luigi]

some clarification -
* use netconfig to configure your adaptors, and ifconfig to view or renew them.
* NETBIOS is windows networking's name protocol. only redmond machines really use it.

:D

[roofus_T_4fly]

Ah! Ctrl-Esc! Should have tried that! It feels wrong to use the Windows key though!!!!

1) Makes much more sense now!
2) Makes MUCH mor sense now!
3) Ah! This also makes sense! However, I can not seem to locate nslookup.....where is it located? Tried a find, but could not find it...do I need to download it?

While waiting for a post, I was reading through some other's similar problems, and I ensured that my nameservers were showing up correctly though....interesting.....


Thank you for all of your help!!!!!

[roofus_T_4fly]

Okay, after a little poking around, here are the results...

nslookup

Server: myisp1.myisp.com
Address: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (all correct info)

***myisp1.myisp.com can't find nslookup: Non-existent host/domain.


So.....it appears that it is finding my ISP and nameserver correclty, but what is the last part?

I've been trying to find help on this before posting, but so far I can't make heads or tails of it!


Thanks!

[roofus_T_4fly]

Sorry for posting too quick.....

Found some info that says this is normal due to reasons that I can't begin to repeat (or type out).

I *am*, however, able to use nslookup to hit any website that I want, but I still can't pull up a webpage! Any suggestions?

[Luigi]

how many eth cards do you have?

when you're trying to access a page, does it get any further than ip resolution? if no, it's a gateway problem.

[roofus_T_4fly]

Just one NIC. It is detected as eth0, no other eth devices listed other than local host.

When you type in a web page, it says "looking up host". Never goes past it. Is there something else that will give you more info?

Before starting this post, I tried going into network configurator and putting in the gateway's address. So, it showed proper network addressing, mask, and gateway. This did not work either (same exact problem). Since you have started helping me, I have tried everything in both configurations to be sure that I was not fouling up the results of what we are trying!!!

[Luigi]

sounds like konqueror is not looking at the right interface. try using lynx, just for the sake of it.
[I]lynx www.google.com[/]

[roofus_T_4fly]

Well, no go. lynx will bring up google fine by IP (no surprise), but that is it!

I am wondering if it is possible that the firewall is screwing me up (even though the admin claims that it is opened up just fine)..... Is there anything that could be stopping me there? If so, what should I have the admin check?

*The admin thinks that everything is opened up alright for my purposes because the other linux box is working on the network....nevermind that it does not access anything outside of our network!!!!! The admin may be right, but I would sure hate to chase this any farther until I am sure......


Thank you for all of your help!!! Can't say it enough, this site is COOL!

[Luigi]

try and access a site on the local network, the same way your other linux box does. if that works, but the external world does not, then you likely have a firewall problem.

[roofus_T_4fly]

Thanks for that info (and all of your help)

I have to wait for admin to return from meetings (love that), so I will not likely post back results until tomorrow sometime. I will let you know!!!!

[roofus_T_4fly]

Okay, it looks like the firewall is the issue.....now for the fun part!

How can I find out what needs to be opened in order to get through? I have been searching newsgroups and help sites all morning, but I have not been able to come up with any useful info!!


Thanks!

[Luigi]

your administrator should know how to set up ip masquerading! that's what you need.