we have a guy working for us that got made and took down our server....he was running his own business on our server. what we have done is start all over with a new static ip and took down all our computer sharing...... what we have found is that he has deny all host... we have try to restart the network using the restart command, and also try to restart our SQL by command...... we are very new to linux and are trying our best to figure out what we are doing.....what it seems like is really happening is the static ip is getting to and inside the sever, but not coming out the other side...... we have a netgear switch the is inline after the server going to more computers, if we unplug the server and plug into the switch we then have the internet on our computers....but if we plug into the server and then run to the switch we have no internet........ could really use some help on this one..........hope someone can help...thanks Northfork

Where are you located, it sounds like this server is probably your firewall, he probably restricted access in iptables.

If(!) the guy got made redundant ( I assume that's the missing word) and HE took down your server, the I'd rebuild that server from scratch. There's no knowing what he did to it. You also need to change any/all passwds. Changing acct names would be nice but prob not possible.

Also, F9 is obsolete, so no updates (inc security) for you.
Assuming this is a business, get Centos 5.4, which is a free copy of RHEL 5.4. Has 7 yrs worth of updates. Fedora only lasts 13 mths and is an R&D distro for RH. Bleeding edge stuff, not terribly stable.

I agree with chrism01, best to start all over.

Also, you may want to make sure that ip forwarding is enabled. I think the command to enable it is "echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward", this will enable it temporarily to see if it works. Or you could look in the /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward file and see if it says 1, if not issue the command to enable it. To make it permanent navigate to the /etc/sysconfig/network and change so it says FORWARD_IPV4 = YES

hi guys........I to believe it would be best to start over......this was one of the most dishonest people i have ever know. I still going to try to at least be able to see to the server and come out the other side to the rest of my computers......I thinking this will be a great lesson before Im done. I was wondering what you all thought about this (1) I took down the fire wall in the server to see if i could ping my static ip the sever said host was unreachable... Im not sure if i took the firewall down right are not? (2) I also try the command
echo 1 > /proc/sys/net ipv4/ip forward (thinking this would let me through) it said bash: echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip forward: no such file or directory. what do you guys think.... (thanks for all your help) Northfork

hi guys...........fisrt I want to say thanks for helping me......
I try to take down the firewall in the server, to see if I could ping my static ip router...it said host was unreachable.. I not sure if I took the wall down right....I was wondering is there just one command that will take the whole wall down?
I also try the command echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip forward hoping this would let me go into and out of the server...................
what I got was bash: echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip forward : no such file or directory. I was wondering if something has been removed..

I want to say thanks again for helping me, and I to believe the best thing to do is tear it down and start over. but I thinking if I can make this thing work, it will be a great lesson....

thanks Northfork

one other thing I was wondering about when I type in etc/sysconfig/network it saids bash: no such file or directory.
I was wondering could he have hid the files some where eles....thanks

While it's admirable to try and diagnose your problems all by yourself I agree with chrism01 you should (make a backup of filesystem contents or store away the drives and) build a new server from scratch. As you say you are quite new to this whole GNU/Linux thing and by doing stuff you might not understand what the implications are or can be. For instance your continued mucking around with the server might 0) destroy evidence you have that could help either build a case or at least help you understand what's different as opposed to a regular system or 1) inadvertedly trigger something your good colleague left behind.

Sure we're willing to help diagnose things but if this server is a vital component of your business please take care of priority #1 things first (meaning backups).

hey clayb226.. I did try the ip forward deal.........it said the file wasnt there....... what do you think....NF

How do I add new parameter settings for the SQL to connect to a new I.P. address in my SQL ADMIN. can anyone help with this?

Northfork,
You need a _ between ip and forward like this ip_forward. Did you try this. Most files in the /proc directory are set up at boot.

This should be /etc/sysconfig/network.

hey thanks Clayb226 you where right.....about the underscore
I did try etc/sysconfig/network after that and it said no file or directory I was wondering should have I used a different command after that.....thanks for helping. NF

Hi Chrism01.....thanks for replying............I was wondering if there anyway to tell if he made himself redundant? thanks. NF

northfork,
Awesome, I am glad it worked, does it forward packets to the other interface now? Also, unless you are in the root directory, represented by a /, you will have to put the / in front of the etc/sysconfig/network like this; /etc/sysconfig/network. Also, /etc/sysconfig/network is a file, and you will need to use a text editor to the file. you can use a command like "vim /etc/sysconfig/network", or replace vim with nano or your favorite editor. Use the "cd" command to go to the sysconfig directory like this "cd /etc/sysconfig" and then type "ls" to see the contents. You will probably have to have root privileges to modify the file itself. One more thing, how critical is the server; unSpawn has a point you will want to have a backup if there is anything of any importance on the server. Is the only purpose for the box is to act as a router/firewall? Keep us posted if you need some more help. Have a great day, and be blessed.