Novell LINUX ENTERPRISE SERVER 10 - INSTALLATION AND ADMINISTRATION 11-05-2007, Installation Manual

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hosts: files dns
networks: files dns
...
The
dns
entry is vital. It tells Linux to use an external name server.
Normally, these entries are automatically made by YaST, but it never
hurts to check.
If all the relevant entries on the host are correct, let your system admin-
istrator check the DNS server configuration for the correct zone infor-
mation. For detailed information about DNS, refer to
Chapter 33, The
Domain Name System (page 609). If you have made sure that the DNS
configuration of your host and the DNS server are correct, proceed with
checking the configuration of your network and network device.
4c
If your system cannot establish a connection to a network server and you
have excluded name service problems from the list of possible culprits, check
the configuration of your network card.
Use the command
ifconfig network_device
(executed as
root
)
to check whether this device was properly configured. Make sure that both
inet address
and
Mask
are configured correctly. An error in the IP
address or a missing bit in your network mask would render your network
configuration unusable. If necessary, perform this check on the server as
well.
4d
If the name service and network hardware are properly configured and run-
ning, but some external network connections still get long time-outs or fail
entirely, use
traceroute fully_qualified_domain_name
(exe-
cuted as
root
) to track the network route these requests are taking. This
command lists any gateway (hop) a request from your machine passes on its
way to its destination. It lists the response time of each hop and whether this
hop is reachable at all. Use a combination of traceroute and ping to track
down the culprit and let the administrators know.
Once you have identified the cause of your network trouble, you can resolve it yourself
(if the problem is located on your machine) or let the system administrators of your
network know about your findings so they can reconfigure the services or repair the
necessary systems.
930 Installation and Administration