Hello everybody .i am sure that my question has been asked thousand times before... if that who will get mad for one more ?
So, my problem...
- i have a workstation under linux Slackware 9.1;
- my computer is host of a domenium;

My first question ...
- how can i find out what network card do i have ? (with lspci command ? if this is correct,than my card is an Ethernet one ; Ethernet controller ;Intel Corp. )
Now,lets say that i know what network card i have ; which is the next step ? and the final question how to access the net ?

P.S. when type dmesg | less i find somewhere eth0 and lo . (i know that eth0 is the interface for my primary network card;but what is that lo ? ) What does this mean ?
For now this is all.Thanks.

U can use 'lsmod' to see if you have loaded module (driver) for your network card. If not u have to uncomment appropriate line in /etc/rc.d/rc.modules
When u do it make changes in /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf to set an IP address

Use the command ifconfig, as root, to see what interfaces are present at the moment.
Eth0 is your ethernet card, that's whats getting you on the net I assume.
lo is just a loopback device -- linux uses it as a local networking device, sorta...Just echoes back to itself. It's mostly a legacy thing, don'y worry about it.

If you see eth0 in the output of ifconfig, chances are your internet card is already up and running :-D
you can use the command netconfig to set up dhcp or a static IP address for yourself.
Then you can use a web browser to access the net.
Mozilla and Netscape come in a full install, as well as links and lynx which are text-based browsers.
Try a ping to see if you have connectivity.

ping www.linuxquestions.org



--Shade

Now i am connected to the INTERNET...thanks to u and thanks to the admin...
he told me that i connect to the net using a DHCP server (i don't know what this exactly means)and then he configure a proxy server...(why?)
I am in a big network,and i ma very little...a new man sitting in the front of a workstation...could u explain me which is what with these notions ?(DHCP and proxy?and which is the connection between them?why i couldn't connect without configuration of that proxy ?)


PS there is something which i will never understand...why do you answer to all these questions ? do you get some money or what ? (u help me but how can i help u? and when i would help u if u already know Slack? )

Hopping that u understand my thoughts...pup u! (don't know what pup u means ?)

DHCP is used to automatically assign u an IP address (DHCP client sends a request for an IP address and DHCP server gives one to it) Its useful on large networks where admins dont need to assign a static IP address to each PC in the network.

Proxy server is often used for connecting LAN to the internet. The only computer connected to the internet directly is the proxy server, other computers sends their requests to the proxy server and proxy downloads (when its for example htttp proxy) what they wanted and send it back to the computers in LAN.

If the proxy is the only one computer connected to the 'cloud' this means that the DHCP server is an subordinate,correct ?
a! when i chose DHCP there was no question for the server name, but for the proxy it was. if i don't know the DHCP server name how do i connect to him? how do i -in fact my DHCP client- send him an IP adr request ? where -if no name- to send the request?to whom ?

I probably didnt make myself clear. Proxy isnt the only computer u are connected to but its the only computer from whole your network which is directly connected to the internet. That means that if your computer wants to download some files from some internet server it has to "ask" proxy server to get that file from the internet server and send it back to the computer in lan which requested it (normally (without proxy) u would send request to the internet server and downloaded it directly)

You dont set the name for DHCP server bc it doesnt need it - your client pc broadcasts the request for IP (all computers in the network receive this UDP packet) and then get back UDP packet with the IP, any other way would be too difficult considering the fact that you dont know either yours or servers IP.

Thank u very much !

By the way, we answer these questions simply to spread knowledge.
We've all been newbies before.
We've all had questions like these before.

Some day, you'll find yourself giving back to the community in some form or fashion, and you may not even realize it.


--Shade

PS - No, I don't know what "pup u" means

I am very happy for what u've said. Some people think : if u are looking for an answer to your question then you have to pay or help me other way. Nothing is free! This is why my message is "Great !"

PS : pup u is an interjection ,the little noise which is given by a sweet kiss.