Fedora 10 | static ip issues

[forum.query]

Have Fedora 10 up and running - clean install. Standard Realtek NIC. During install, system configured itself assuming DHCP. Fine, except that I don't want DHCP - I want a static ip config. So, I go nto network configuration tool, and turn off DHCP, and click the radio button telling the system I want a static ip address. Enter subnet msk, gateway, and all the usual stuff, configure DNS address, exit/save, reboot, but when the system comes back up, the subnet mask is no longer 255.255.255.0 (which is what I entered), but is now the same as the default gateway address!

Needless to say, this is not what I had in mind. ;-)

I tried manually editing ifcfg-etho, setting subnet to 255.255.255.0, but this doesn't seem to solve the problem.

Any ideas?

[Iron_Mike]

Make sure you have NetworkManager disabled as it will override whatever settings you have set.

Mike

[metatron]

I'm sure someone will give you a better Fedora-based answer but I don't know what you're doing wrong in Fedora. So I'll try to help from a networking perspective. What kind of connection do you have? Are you at home connected directly to the internet or are you connected through a server maybe at work?

[Iron_Mike]

See this thread here, read the 2nd and 3rd posts

http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=205145

Mike

[forum.query]

Make sure you have NetworkManager disabled as it will override whatever settings you have set.

Mike

Network Manager turned off. Went into Network Configuration tool, Devices, Edit, and deselected Network Manager. Also, being anal, ran chkconfig NetworkManager off.

Makes no difference. Everyt time I fire up Network Config tool, Devices, Edit, the subnet mask reverts to the gateway. And, no networking as a result.

[forum.query]

I'm sure someone will give you a better Fedora-based answer but I don't know what you're doing wrong in Fedora. So I'll try to help from a networking perspective. What kind of connection do you have? Are you at home connected directly to the internet or are you connected through a server maybe at work?

At work - hard wired into the internet (basic T1 into my office). Have 2 other boxes hooked into same system - all static ip, all working perfectly, all running Fedora 8. Its only on this new box am I having this problem.

Every time I try to set the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0, it doesn't stick. It keeps reverting to my gateway.

[forum.query]

See this thread here, read the 2nd and 3rd posts

http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=205145

Mike

Tried all the tricks I read there (most of which I knew).

Turned of Network Manager using chkconfig NetworkManager off

Made sure network enabled using chkconfig network on

Even hand-edited the eht0 config file to specify the right subnet, but it keeps getting overwritten by...something.

[hiberphoptik]

I noticed this too on my setup, here is how to fix:

1. go to /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts
2. open ifcfg-ethX (where x is the number of your nic usually 0)
3. edit subnet mask
4. save

fixed!

[metatron]

At work - hard wired into the internet (basic T1 into my office). Have 2 other boxes hooked into same system - all static ip, all working perfectly, all running Fedora 8. Its only on this new box am I having this problem.

Every time I try to set the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0, it doesn't stick. It keeps reverting to my gateway.

Well if you're running directly into the internet you should have the right subnet mask. But just for the hell of it try 255.255.0.0 and see if that works.

[hiberphoptik]

Well if you're running directly into the internet you should have the right subnet mask. But just for the hell of it try 255.255.0.0 and see if that works.

what the OP is seeing is a bug in the network device setup GUI/dialogs it does not accept 255.255.255.0 as the subnet mask, and it instantly changes back to your primary IP, right now the only way to fix it is to manually edit the config file that the GUI is changing/creating (see my post above)

You can recreate this anytime by attempting to setup a static network interface using the network settings GUI in Gnome

[forum.query]

I noticed this too on my setup, here is how to fix:

1. go to /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts
2. open ifcfg-ethX (where x is the number of your nic usually 0)
3. edit subnet mask
4. save

fixed!

Alas, tried this first, and it didn't solve the problem.

It is worth noting (perhaps) that if I select DHCP, and enter the host name (which maps via DNS to the ip address I need), everything works perfectly. While I realize a pragmatist would say, so, simply use the DHCP switch, I don't find that satisfactory, and I don't think it will work in the end for some of what I want this machine to do.

[hiberphoptik]

Alas, tried this first, and it didn't solve the problem.

It is worth noting (perhaps) that if I select DHCP, and enter the host name (which maps via DNS to the ip address I need), everything works perfectly. While I realize a pragmatist would say, so, simply use the DHCP switch, I don't find that satisfactory, and I don't think it will work in the end for some of what I want this machine to do.

hmm interesting, can you post your ifcfg setup file and your /etc/resolve.conf?

I too do not use DHCP, it just means slower startup times and why bother using it on a home desktop computer

as long as your ifcfg file is proper and network manager is disabled and the card is working thats all you need

[shess01]

I usually use the system-config-services gui to configure run-levels. If you are not going to use NetworkManager, make sure that it is unselected and click on the save icon.

I am one of those people that moves around quite a bit with a laptop,, but also have need to configure static ip's. I kill NetworkManager with "service NetworkManager stop" and then manually configure my interface from the command line.

If "something" is not allowing you to enter a static ip, I think the place to start is to run the following command and post the output.

service --status-all | grep running

disclaimer: I am currently on f8 and downloading f10...

[forum.query]

hmm interesting, can you post your ifcfg setup file and your /etc/resolve.conf?

I too do not use DHCP, it just means slower startup times and why bother using it on a home desktop computer

as long as your ifcfg file is proper and network manager is disabled and the card is working thats all you need

So, finally getting more clever than I have been, I decided to simply compare the ifcfg file on the misbehaving machine with the equivalent file on my other Fedora 8 boxes that are running just fine.

Turns out that there were several keep differences. On the working machines, I had the following lines in the ifcfg files that were not there on the problem machine:


BROADCAST=blah.blah.blah.255
NETWORK=blah.blah.blah.0


I put those two lines into the ifcfg file on my problem machine, and made sure that subnet set to 255.255.255.0. Restart the network service, and...voila, it worked!

I can also confirm that if you bring up the GUI tool and try to set the subnet to 255.255.255.0, it won't take it, and overwrites with the gateway number. Thanks to an reply further up this thread for tipping me off to that - to me, this is a HUGE bug, because for a lot of us in 'big enterprises' (like the University I work at), 255.255.255.0 is the required subnet. To have a fundamental part of the network config tool choke on that seems to be a big issue (and, it most have crept in somewhere between Fedora 8 -> 10, since it works fine in Fedora 8).

I still have no idea why the DHCP seemed to work just fine (especially when my network guys tell me it shouldn't have worked at all, but...).

So, seems that the best way to set up a static ip with Fedora 10 is to:

1. drop Network Manager (chkconfig NetworkManager off)

2. manually edit ifcfg to specify what you want. Mine currently looks like the following (relevant bits changed to protect the stupid...):

DEVICE=eth0
BOOTPROTO=none
BROADCAST=xxx.yyy.zzz..255
HWADDR=xx:yy:zz:11:22:33
IPADDR=ab.cd.ef.gh
IPV6INIT=yes
IPV6_AUTOCONF=yes
NETMASK=255.255.255.0
NETWORK=xx.yy.zz1.0
ONBOOT=yes
DNS1=aa.bb.cc.dd
DNS2=ee.ff.gg.hh
GATEWAY=xx.yy.zz.1
TYPE=Ethernet
NM_CONTROLLED=no
USERCTL=no
PEERDNS=yes

[forum.query]

I usually use the system-config-services gui to configure run-levels. If you are not going to use NetworkManager, make sure that it is unselected and click on the save icon.

I am one of those people that moves around quite a bit with a laptop,, but also have need to configure static ip's. I kill NetworkManager with "service NetworkManager stop" and then manually configure my interface from the command line.

If "something" is not allowing you to enter a static ip, I think the place to start is to run the following command and post the output.

service --status-all | grep running

disclaimer: I am currently on f8 and downloading f10...

You might want to look at the post I just made - turns out there *must* have been some bug that slipped into the GUI for network admin between Fedora 8 (which I'm running fine on other machines in the same room), and Fedora 10.