Cross platform networking
 

I have a home network with three machines on it: a PC running Windows XP, one running Windows Vista and one running Ubuntu (I think "G").
The XP machine and the Ubuntu machine can see everybody on the network, but the Vista machine is making trouble (of course).
The Vista sees and talks to the XP, but denies all knowledge of the Ubuntu.
When I ping the Ubuntu I get all four packets through, and when I typed the IP address in Explorer I got the following message:


windows Network Diagnostics
windows confirmed that “1O.O.O.2’ is currently online, but is not responding to connection attempts at this time.
This usually means that a firewall is running somewhere between the two computers and is blocking “File and printer sharing (sMBY’. Windows has confirmed that windows Firewall on this computer is correctly configured to allow this connection. However, a remote firewall might be blocking your connection.
If you have access to this firewall then configure the firewall to allow connections through TCP port *CENSORED*. If you don't have access, contact your network administrator or Internet service provider.


Now, to the best of my knowledge there IS no firewall on the Ubuntu machine (whose internal IP address btw is 10.0.0.2).
Any suggestions? Could this mean the firewall on the router?

"connect" is such a vague word... I expect their version of connect means cifs (windows network share), so if you're not running samba on that ubuntu box then there's nothing to connect to. what do you expect to happen if it "connects"?

me being me, i'd run tcpdump or wireshark on ubuntu and see what traffic actually hits the box.

How are the machines connected to each other?

If they are connected to a central device (wireless router? or wired switch integrated into a router?) and XP can see Ubuntu, then the problem is only likely to be a firewall if it has been configured to allow some connections and not others. This is doubly so if Vista is able to ping Ubuntu. Such messages from IE are just suggesting the most obvious explanation for connection problems.

What service(s) does XP access on Ubuntu (or vice versa)? Samba / Windows file sharing? Web server? Are these set up correctly on the Vista machine? If it is a web server that is running on Ubuntu, is Vista perhaps trying to access it via https:// (port 443) while XP is trying plain http:// (port 80)? Is the Vista machine trying on a non-standard port?

One thing that would be worth trying is to connect to the relevant port using telnet from the command line (telnet "ip-address" "port number"). You won't usually be able to do anything via telnet, but if you get a response rather than telnet just hanging, it will tell you that there is an active service on that port.

If, as seems likely, this turns out to be a Vista problem, you may get a better response from The Elder Geek

Hope this helps,
Rob

The machines are connected via a router. The xp and Ubuntu are attached via cable and the Vista wireless (if that matters. The Vista can access shared files on the XP, and the XP can access shared files on the Ubuntu).
Like I said, there is no active firewall on the Ubuntu. Both Windows machines are running ZoneAlarm, and it is configured properly on both machines. The router has whatever firewall these things come with.

The Vista wants to access shared files on the Ubuntu using Samaba Windows/Linux sharing. We know that it works, because of the XP machine. Do I need to configure the |Vista machine somehow? If I recall correctly, all configuration with that went on on the Ubuntu.

I don't quite follow you here...

Thanks, I'll try that.

Vista would need some client software installed and running to connect to the network share. Not much of a clue about Vista (only used it once) but in XP, if you look in "Local Area Connection Properties" (Control Panel > Network Connections) you should see an entry for this. It may be installed and enabled by default in Vista, like in XP, but it may not be.
Telnet allows a more basic test of network connectivity than (for example) a browser. It can tell you (often) whether the problem is with the software on that machine, or with either the network or server. For example:
Here, I first try to connect to an active web server on port 80 (it's actually Google). There are error messages displayed, but I get a response. In this case, if I couldn't access the page using my browser, I'd start checking the browser configs.In the second case, I try to contact a non-existent web server, and it just times out. Here, I would be looking at the network, or the server.

You could try a similar thing on the Windows networking ports.