Solaris DHCP reception problem
 

Hi all.

I have an old Sparc 5 that I use for writing (learning) scripts. Basically, that's all it's used for(except to crank out a SETI unit about every year and a half, lol). It is supposed to recieve a DHCP address from my DHCP server (a Red Hat machine, LAN ip address 192.168.5.1). Well, one day, I turned it on and got error messages that it wasn't working. Unfortunately, there is no way for me to post the code directly, so bear with this:

At boot time, it says:

Starting DHCP on primary interface le0
le0: No carrier - cable disconnected or hub link test disabled?
ifconfig: le0: wait timed out, operation still pending...
/sbin/dhcpinfo: interface not in appropriate state for command
Hostname: Unknown

Then it continues to boot, and when I finally get to the desktop, a window pops up saying:

Action Required

The DT messaging system could not be started.

To correct the problem:
1. Choose [OK] to return to the login screen.
2. Select Failsafe Session from the login screen's option menu and log in.
3. Check to see that the hostname is correct in these locations:
/etc/src.sh
/etc/hosts
/usr/adm/inetd.sec

For additional information, see the DT User's Guide


Now, the only option open to me is to press [OK]. I do that and am returned to the login screen. I then login to failsafe mode. I check the /etc/src.sh file, and it doesn't EXISTS!!! Ugh... I check the /etc/hosts file, and it says that:

127.0.0.1 localhost
192.168.5.2 unknown

Then, I check /usr/adm/inetd.sec and that file doesn't exist, either! Now, the weird thing is that it SEEMS to be getting an IP ADDRESS, but not a hostname. "ifconfig -a | more" shows me that le0 has an IP address of 192.168.5.249!!! So, it seems to be getting the address. However, if I try to ping Yahoo!, I get:

ICMP Host Unreacable from gateway 24.128.8.138

What is that all about?! That's not even close to being the right gateway, first of all. I have no idea whose IP address that is!

Does anyone have any thoughts? I know it's not the cable or the switch port. I tested them both and they are fine. I'd appreciate any help! Thanks a million!

Chris :scratch:

PS. This is running Solaris 8

what about your DNS settings? /etc/resolv.conf could be a bit helpful, also the routing table
route -n

I will take a look into that, but I don't really see what that'll tell me about not recieving a hostname from the DHCP server. I'll take a look, then get back to you. Thanks.

Chris

It appears that your system has lost its identity. A common side effect of this is the CDE problem that you describe. Try doing a sys-unconfig.

sysunconfig? I am unfamiliar with that. Could you elaborate? Thanks!

Chris

a sys-unconfig will return the machine to a totally unconfigured state, then reboot and run throught the questions where you can specify all your network stuff (hostname, ip, etc...).

a couple of questions I dont see answered here.

0. With the message "cable disconnected", did you check the cable, (possibly replace the cable). Either the cable is unlinked, bad, or the card is bad for this to happen.

1. What version of Solaris is it?
If it's Solaris 7 or better, then post the contents of /etc/default/dhcp* (mostly just the last few lines)

2. Did you recently re-install it?

3. What are the contents of "/etc/hostname.le0" and "/etc/hosts".
If no /etc/hostname.le0, then create it with the correct hostname as the contents.