Slackware Networking Frustration

[Matthias]

All right, if I sound like an idiot or I've missed something, bear with me.

I just set up a Slackware 7.1 system and put it on my Linksys broadband router. After setting up the networking components, I find that I can't resolve anything.

I've added the right nameservers, I've got the right gateway address, and I can ping and traceroute to any IP address. But when I try to resolve anything, nslookup tells me that the nameservers are not responding, when my other two boxes on the network are having no issues...

Any ideas? Very frustrating, I've added, removed, changed and purèed my resolv.conf repeatedly, and I get no love.

[Lorithar]

*hmms*

two points...
/etc/host.conf ....order should be bind,hosts

/etc/resolve.conf should contain only IP addresses. (i.e. nameserver xx.xx.xx.xx)

make sure your firewall is letting port 53 through.

[Matthias]

hosts.conf - check
resolv.conf - check

Firewall - I'll check it when I get home, I'm using a different firmware than the last time that I did this, I should have thought of that... 53? Ok. Will do.

[Infested Flar]

try the command 'dig'.

-flar-

[Matthias]

Well, this is getting more complicated by the minute. I'm using a Linksys router, and only the first machine (My Win2000 box) can connect to the internet. The other two machines can see internal IP addresses, and can ping any IP address, but cannot resolve names or make any connections outside the LAN.

Cripes.

Any ideas?

[syn]

are you on cable?
some companies filter out stuff like that I think, and you might have to have a vpn to connect to whatever service you are wanting, at least thats the way ONE cable company is run down here

[jumpedintothefire]

How about a quick layout of your network?

[Matthias]

Layout... well, I'l try, let me know if I munch anything...

RCA Digital Cable Modem connecting to Linksys BESFR41 Router (192.168.1.1), which then has connections to a Win2000 box (192.168.1.2), a Win98 box (192.168.1.3) and my Slackware box (192.168.1.4).

The router has my fixed IP address, subnet, and DNS servers specified from the information my cable company gave me.

Ummm... what else?

[nanode]

Let me summarize what's been said:

-Linksys router is the LAN gateway to the internet
-the DNS ip provided by your ISP works on some clients, but not the host in question
-all LAN hosts can ping internet ip add (dotted quads)

Can the Linksys use DHCP for your internal hosts? I really don't know anything about those things - I use slackware as a firewall/GW/DHCP server. All the network #s get pushed to DHCP clients - that way all hosts are using the same #s all the time. See my config - it might give you an idea:
my DHCP configuration (http://yunt.net/network/dhcp.php)

[ 28 February 2001: Message edited by: nanode ]

[Matthias]

Correct summary, save that only 1 machine of three, the first one, can resolve DNS.

DHCP can be used, in fact DHCP was my original setup which stopped working recently. I'm beginning to question if the router is at fault.

[Matthias]

All right, let loose the crack monkeys!

I was playing with the networking settings, and found out one interesting fact: it doesn't matter what the hostname or anything is - as long as the machine has the lowest assigned IP address in the set, it can connect!

I tried it with DHCP, and as long as the linux machine has the lowest IP in the range, it could connect, and none of the others could. If the Win2K box has the lowest, it can connect.

What the hell, people? Is this messed up?

[Lorithar]

*garfs*

You don't happen to have a second nic lying around do ya?
At this juncture I'd be seriously suspicious of that there linksys critter .. and I do see a way around it ... sorta
plug linksys directly to linux box, setup forwarding and masqing rules thereon, plug in second nic, and hub the rest together...

1) is it possible that the firewall config on the linksys is limiting you to ONE access to the internet? .. then here is yet another course of action which requires no further hardware...
setup linux box with lowest ip, and setup a simple forwarding only nameserver on the linux box (BIND dns server is called named -- see man named.conf for complete confusion...*grin*) then have the REST of the boxen use the linux box as a nameserver.
(in windows network props, DNS, put the ip addy of the linux box in the list).

I don't know the linksys at all ..but it seems that that is where your problem is occurring.