NIC / ARP Problems..
 

Getting very frustrated..

I just built a redhat 9 box and stuck it on my lan that is behind a windows 2000 box as the gateway..

Everything is fine and dandy, but after awhile eth0 basically dies.. I noticed this while trying to download updates..

After making absolute sure it wasn't a nic issue (swapped tons of hardware out, even tried a USB nic)

Anyway, I bypass the windows2000 machine by plugging the linux box directally into my DSL, problem solved..

So clearly its a network issue, so I decide to run ethereal while I try my updates, right as it dies, ARP requests start flying.. Who has 192.168.0.1 Tell 192.168.0.123 (0 is the gatewal, 123 is the linux box)

Anyway doing an arp -n, for my windows box, i get incomplete.. So I tried manually adding it to the ARP table, still does the same thing..

Oddly if I ping 192.168.0.1, it manages to get the mac addy of its gateway and it is no longer incomplete..

Seems like to me my windows box isn't responding to my linux box'es ARP request broadcasts..

Very odd..


Any ideas? I know this was a long post, sorry.. :study:

-scoob8000

update:

I set the linux box behind another gateway.. (i subnetted my lan with a little broadband router, and it works fine..)

Now, watching ethereal, it sends out about 3 ARP broadcasts, gets a response and all is well..

So my MS machine must not be responding to the broadcasts.. Sure thats something to fix on that box, but still shouldnt my redhat machine work fine when I manually set the ARP entry?

-scoob8000

Hrm, no takers?

scoob8000,

You have to manually add the MAC address to both machines arp table. It should be marked with an CM (for complete, permanent) on the linux box in the arp table.

Make sure that both machines have the same subnet, or they won't see each other's broadcasts

Good Luck,
chris

Hrm.. I'll have to try that.. I only added it on the linux box..

Thanks

Scoob8000