[clug] Switching to broadband - more help needed.

[Hal Ashburner]

Felix Karpfen wrote:
> (hitherto-dummy) eth0 configuration was still needed!  Now I have a mess
> on my hands :(.
>
> Kernel IP routing table
> Destination     Gateway         Genmask         Flags Metric Ref Use Iface
>
> 192.168.0.0     0.0.0.0         255.255.255.0   U     0      0    0  eth0
> 0.0.0.0         192.168.0.1     0.0.0.0         UG    0      0    0  eth0
If you did end up going with the Asus router? by default its IP address is
192.168.1.1 and should be used as your gateway. Other routers will work 
in a very similar fashion just maybe with a slightly different ip address.

As previously mentioned the easiest and best way to set up networking is 
let the router do it for you using dhcp. I'd be surprised if an adsl 
modem/router exists that doesn't support dhcp using something like the 
dnsmasq program.

if you're using something debian-like on your computer the file
/etc/network/interfaces
should have something like:

auto lo eth0

iface lo inet loopback

iface eth0 inet dhcp


(remove or comment out pre-existing configuration relating to the eth0 
interface, including address, netmask and gateway lines.)
alternatively, keep a static eth0 and make it look something like

iface eth0 inet static
    address 192.168.1.100
    netmask 255.255.255.0
    gateway 192.168.1.1 #assuming this is the address of the router.


# address has to start 192.168.1. then the last digit anything that 
isn't 1. dhcp will chose one for you that isn't used. Dhcp works 
particularly well for guests from out of town who come to stay and want 
to use their laptop to check their email or whatever.


alternatively network manager will do it all for you without having to 
think about it, including wireless. With the proviso if something breaks 
it can be more difficult to fix. In my experience its a lot more robust 
than it used to be. If you use network manager it's best not to have 
anything at all for eth0.
nm-applet is the thing that will give you a gui control on your panel if 
you're running gnome.
Maybe you're using a distribution that isn't debian-ish? Or you're 
interested in network manager but using a desktop that isn't GNOME?
Ask away and better answers will be provided (possibly by those more 
knowledgeable than me!)

Hal