OK, just installed Redhat 7.2 and am unable to get a TCP/IP connection. On boot, I am getting the "Determining IP information from eth0 failed" error.

FYI, I am using a Netgear FA311 network card and am using a Linksys DSL router which I am unable to ping. I am currently using DHCP connections from this router with multiple windows PCs with no problem.

Any suggestions as to how to get my system configured correctly in order to get this problem resolved? It's probably something basic, but I wouldn't know where to start. Thanks in advance for the help!!

-karl-

hello,
that seems like a common configuration. okay the router assigns a IP with DHCP - right? i would open netconfig and see what is in there for card 0, if nothing try picking out a module to use, i think that card takes a tulip module. then have it restart stuff, there are other options which i hope a pretty clear. if not please let us know.

Yeah, the router is assigning IPS via DHCP. Forgive my ignorance, but how do I go about assigning a module? Unless I'm mistaken, I'm currently using a natsemi module, but I can't seem to change that in the settings. Thanks for the assist.

You're fine with the Natsemi module; the FA-311 uses the natsemi.o, where the older FA-310TX uses the tulip.o module.

-Which DHCP client are you running, dhcpcd or pump? See if either daemon is running:
ps -ax |grep dhcp
ps -ax |grep pump

-In /etc/sysconfig/network, make sure the line "NETWORKING=" value is set to "yes".
-Make sure that /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0 contains the following entries:
ONBOOT=yes
and
BOOTPROTO=dhcp

The network card itself might have problems. If so, here are a few suggestions:

1. Turn off Plug-N-Play support in your BIOS; it can cause resource conflicts with some cards under Linux.
2. Type "lspci" (no quotes) and see if the FA-311 is identified in the resulting list.
3.Type "cat /proc/interrupts" to see if the card has been assigned a conflicting IRQ.
4. Type "cat /proc/ioports" and check for address conflicts.
5. Type "lsmod"; the natsemi module should appear in the resulting list.
6. Type "dmesg |less" to review your startup messages. Look for any errors/messages related to the NIC.

Looks like its running the grep dhcp

/etc/sysconfig/network settings are correct and the

/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0 does have those entries


For second part:

1. Ok, will try that.
2. No, I don't see FA-311 anywhere
3. I don't see any conflicts from here
4. Ditto
5. Yes, the module is there.
6. I don't see any errors on the startup messages...

I don't know what else to do, this is driving me nuts!!!

Thanks again for the help.

Good, that indicates that the dhcpcd client daemon is running. *note- the "grep dhcp" part of that command string I posted was just using the grep command to look for the text pattern "dhcp" in the output of the ps -ax command.
Yes, do- it's often the first thing suggested when troubleshooting network card problems

Any reference to "Natsemi" or "National Semiconductor" (the manufacturer of the 311's chipset)? Look for a line with "Ethernet Controller" near the beginning.

As above, any reference to National Semi?

Good. Does the following entry exist in /etc/modules.conf:
alias eth0 natsemi

If not, add it.

ok, when doing cat /proc ioports, there is the Ethernet Controller IS listed, but I don't see anything when doing cat /proc/interrupts.

It is listed when I type lspci

alias eth0 natsemi IS included in modules.conf....

-karl-

Toggle the BIOS Plug-N-Play option.

No dice, even with the PnP disabled....

Fsck!

kgunnar,

My usage of DHCP is limited to Macs and PCs (as I run my Linux LAN on static addresses), so I'm out of suggetions for now. Hopefuly I can get into "Brilliant Idea" mode tomorrow after a little sleep and a full re-reading of this thread...