pjcrump at bitstream.net wrote:
> I'm a networking newbie.. so please be gentle..
> Just installed Mandrake 9.1 and I am unable to get the network 
> connection working. I have worked through the Mandrake Control Center 
> but to no avail (googling indicates that the control center is junk).
> The nic is a built in VIA VT6103 (which I would expect that Mandrake 
> setup the drivers correctly)
> Here is output of the ifconfig
> ---------
> eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:E0:4C:A7:82:0C
> UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
> RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
> TX packets:0 errors:67 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
> collisions:0 txqueuelen:100
> RX bytes:0 (0.0 b) TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)
> Interrupt:16 Base address:0xe800
> eth0:9 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:E0:4C:A7:82:0C
> inet addr:169.254.251.14 Bcast:169.254.255.255 Mask:255.255.0.0
> UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
> Interrupt:16 Base address:0xe800
> 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:554 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
> TX packets:554 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
> collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
> RX bytes:46262 (45.1 Kb) TX bytes:46262 (45.1 Kb)
> ---------
> One thing that I see that is wierd is the eth0:9 - what does the :9 mean?
> .. And here is the output of the route -n command:
> -----------
> Kernel IP routing table
> Destination Gateway Genmask Flags Metric Ref Use Iface
> 169.254.0.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.0.0 U 0 0 0 eth0
> 127.0.0.0   0.0.0.0 255.0.0.0 U 0 0 0   lo
> -----------
> I understand that the 169.254.0.0 has something to do w/ Samba?
> I think something in the routing table looks wrong but I dunno?
> Thanks in advance!

OK, first of all, that 169.254.0.0 is just the default route for eth0:9 
(a virtual NIC with a different IP address than plain old eth0), which 
has IP address 169.254.251.14. This address is created by a little 
program called zeroconf (I think), which is designed to work with APIPA. 
If you don't know what that means, google for APIPA and zeroconf. The 
short version is, the system will assign itself an IP address in the 
169.254.0.0/16 subnet, and if other hosts on the LAN also have APIPA 
enabled, then they will all be able to talk with one another without any 
additional configuration.

If you still don't understand, well, you probably don't need to worry 
about it. Unless your system is directly connected to the Internet (not 
behind a firewall), it's not a security risk.

OK, now that that's out of the way, we need to ask some questions:

Do you have link lights on your NIC and on the hub or switch that you 
are plugged into? If you have no link, then you have a hardware 
(probably cabling) problem.

I notice that eth0 reports 67 transmit errors. Are you sure your cable 
is connected OK? Or is that just from some failed ping tests?

What is the output of /sbin/lsmod? You should see your network driver in 
the list. I did a quick google using "VT6103 linux driver" and it looks 
like the module is via-rhine, so make sure that is in your list. If it's 
not, then the system is not loading the driver and that is your problem.

Are you using DHCP or a static IP config?

If it's static, have you double-checked your settings for a mis-typed IP 
address or anything else?

If it's DHCP, then it appears that you are not receiving a config from 
your DHCP server. Can you verify if your DHCP server is available, and 
responding?

-- 
Dave Sherman - MCSE, MCSA, CCNA

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
   for you are crunchy, and good with ketchup.


_______________________________________________
TCLUG Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota
http://www.mn-linux.org tclug-list at mn-linux.org
https://mailman.real-time.com/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list