barrett
asked on
AT&T @Home DHCP and Linux config?
AT&T @Home has screwed me and switched over to DHCP -- my "static" IP addresses are apparently useless now.
So how do I set up RedHat 7.1 (out of the box) to deal with DHCP? The web searches I've done so far haven't been very helpful. Can it all be done through Network Config or do I need to run dhcpcd, or what? TIA
All you should need to do is to remove the static IP, default route, and possibly the nameserver specifications and enable DHCP for the interface. You can do that with linuxconf or with netcfg. The reboot the box and see if it gets an IP (ifconfig -a). Also check for a default route with "netstat -rn". Some DHCP servers seem not to properly set up the DNS data (check /etc/resolv.conf) and you might have to manually configure that.
ASKER
You'll have to bear with me on this --
Did just as you suggested: in the Network Conguration app, I removed the IP address from interface eth0, as well as the default route and the nameservers. I enabled DHCP on eth0, saved and rebooted.
During boot, the "bringing up interface eth0" part takes a long time. When I try to ping out, I get "Network is unreachable." Network Configuration reports that eth0 is "inactive" with proto "dhcp". When I try to activate it, it waits a very long time, then finally declares that eth0 is "active," but I still get "Network is unreachable" when I ping.
There are no entries in /etc/resolv.conf, just
"nameserver
search bbox.com"
"ifconfig -a" reports no IP address for eth0.
Did just as you suggested: in the Network Conguration app, I removed the IP address from interface eth0, as well as the default route and the nameservers. I enabled DHCP on eth0, saved and rebooted.
During boot, the "bringing up interface eth0" part takes a long time. When I try to ping out, I get "Network is unreachable." Network Configuration reports that eth0 is "inactive" with proto "dhcp". When I try to activate it, it waits a very long time, then finally declares that eth0 is "active," but I still get "Network is unreachable" when I ping.
There are no entries in /etc/resolv.conf, just
"nameserver
search bbox.com"
"ifconfig -a" reports no IP address for eth0.
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ASKER
Box was connected before the DHCP switch, so I think the NIC is OK. AT&T makes it sound like it's really DHCP, but they're absolutely no help. Guess I'll have to go back to searching the web for a clue. Thanks anyway!
Was it running 7.1 then? If you were running an older version of Redhat, things changed with respect to IRQ allocation. Notably, a 7.1 box will enable USB if it finds the hardware where 6.2 would have ignored any USB controllers because it didn't have drivers.
Let's see if we can find out what is happening. Boot the box and kill pump with "killall pump". Then start a tcpdump (install it from the 1st CD if needed) with "tcpdump -n" and in another window or virtual console execute "/sbin/pump --lookup-hostname -i eth0". The tcpdump trace will let you see if you are sending requests and whether the remote server is responding. If there is an IRQ or NIC driver problem you'll see the outgoing requests and their replies, but the negotiation will fail. I you don't see the replies, that might imply some problem with the cable or the modem.
You could also try dhcpcd. To do that you'll need to kill pump as above and invoke dhcpcd as "dhcpcd eth0". If you keep the tcpdump running you can see what happens.
Try that and let me know what happens.
Let's see if we can find out what is happening. Boot the box and kill pump with "killall pump". Then start a tcpdump (install it from the 1st CD if needed) with "tcpdump -n" and in another window or virtual console execute "/sbin/pump --lookup-hostname -i eth0". The tcpdump trace will let you see if you are sending requests and whether the remote server is responding. If there is an IRQ or NIC driver problem you'll see the outgoing requests and their replies, but the negotiation will fail. I you don't see the replies, that might imply some problem with the cable or the modem.
You could also try dhcpcd. To do that you'll need to kill pump as above and invoke dhcpcd as "dhcpcd eth0". If you keep the tcpdump running you can see what happens.
Try that and let me know what happens.
ASKER
[rolling up sleeves]
This is a fresh 7.1 installation, so no worries there. Just followed the first procedure, and here's the kind of output I received:
11:26:36:351706 eth0 > 0.0.0.0.bootpc > 255.255.255.255.bootpc: xid:0x8fa3fb8b ether 0:50:4:74:48:f1 [ lbootp ] (DF)
11:26:36:351706 eth0 > 0.0.0.0.bootpc > 255.255.255.255.bootpc: xid:0x8fa3fb8b secs:1024 ether 0:50:4:74:48:f1 [ lbootp ] (DF) ...
11:26:36:541706 eth0 B arp who-has 24.255.123.205 tell 24.255.120.1
5 packets received by filter.
The "Activity" and "PC-Link" lights blink while this is happening.
The second procedure gives me:
11:28:28:691706 eth0 > 0:0:0:0:0:0 null > 0:50:4:74:48:f1 sap 45 I (s=1,r=32,C) len 572
f6c2 0000 4011 81eb 0000 0000 ffff ffff
0044 0043 022c f1b9 0101 0600 f8e2 3a0e
0003 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
0000 0000 0050 0474 48f1 0000 0000 0000
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
11:28:28:481706 eth0 B arp who-has 24.255.123.205 tell 24.255.120.1
11:28:28:251706 eth0 B arp who-has 24.255.123.205 tell 24.255.120.1
11:28:28:421706 eth0 B arp who-has 24.255.123.205 tell 24.255.120.1
11.28.44.741706 eth0 > 0:0:0:0:0:0 null > 0:50:4:74:48:f1 sap 45 I (s=1,r=32,C) len 572
f6c2 0000 4011 81eb 0000 0000 ffff ffff
0044 0043 022c f1b9 0101 0600 f8e2 3a0e
0003 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
0000 0000 0050 0474 48f1 0000 0000 0000
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
11:28:28:821706 eth0 B arp who-has 24.255.123.205 tell 24.255.120.1
11:28:28:701706 eth0 B arp who-has 24.255.123.205 tell 24.255.120.1
11:28:28:891706 eth0 B arp who-has 24.255.123.205 tell 24.255.120.1
The lights blinked a few times, so it seems like I'm at least trying to have a conversation with their server.
ASKER
This works:
http://sdb.suse.de/en/sdb/html/leah_all_dhcp_with_at_home.html
Configuring DHCP For AT&T's @home Cable Network
Support knowledgebase (leah_all_dhcp_with_at_hom
Problem:
You are trying to configure your cable modem to work with AT&T's @Home network using DHCP, but all DHCP requests time out.
Cause:
Sometimes this is caused because @Home requires that the hostname be used to authenticate the DHCP request.
Solution:
The solution to this problem is simple.
Configure your Network card first using YaST 1 or YaST 2. Do _not_ activate the networking device, however. Refer to the manual for help doing this.
Edit the file /sbin/init.d/boot.local so that it looks like this:
dhcpcd -h <hostname> <device>
For example:
dhcpcd -h c113@blah eth0
Upon rebooting the machine, your network should be started correctly. The line entered in the /sbin/init.d/boot.local file can be entered directly to the command line as well.
--------------------------
Keywords: @HOME, DHCP, CABLE, AT&T, NETWORK
--------------------------
Categories: DHCP
--------------------------
SDB-leah_all_dhcp_with_at_
SuSE GmbH - Last generated: 29. May 2001 by leah (sdb_gen 1.30.0)
http://sdb.suse.de/en/sdb/html/leah_all_dhcp_with_at_home.html
Configuring DHCP For AT&T's @home Cable Network
Support knowledgebase (leah_all_dhcp_with_at_hom
Problem:
You are trying to configure your cable modem to work with AT&T's @Home network using DHCP, but all DHCP requests time out.
Cause:
Sometimes this is caused because @Home requires that the hostname be used to authenticate the DHCP request.
Solution:
The solution to this problem is simple.
Configure your Network card first using YaST 1 or YaST 2. Do _not_ activate the networking device, however. Refer to the manual for help doing this.
Edit the file /sbin/init.d/boot.local so that it looks like this:
dhcpcd -h <hostname> <device>
For example:
dhcpcd -h c113@blah eth0
Upon rebooting the machine, your network should be started correctly. The line entered in the /sbin/init.d/boot.local file can be entered directly to the command line as well.
--------------------------
Keywords: @HOME, DHCP, CABLE, AT&T, NETWORK
--------------------------
Categories: DHCP
--------------------------
SDB-leah_all_dhcp_with_at_
SuSE GmbH - Last generated: 29. May 2001 by leah (sdb_gen 1.30.0)