Please help if you can (Linux DHCP compast.net troubles)

[Stanley Liberman]

Hello everyone, I need help from somebody around here.

I am currently running Slackware 8 with IPChains firewall rule-set
built-in, two network interfaces (external eth0 and internal eth1),
which mascaraeded out to my internal network of two or more computers.
Before the big changeover last night from Comcast@home to comcast.net,
I had a static IP sitting on my eth0 interface which was directly
connected to the cable modem, and everything worked 'just fine'.

At 1 o'clock at night, cable modem goes down, internet connection goes
down. Comcast.net now requires DHCP.

I set up DHCP on Linux box (dhcpcd) and the command looked like

/sbin/dhcpcd

Nothing worked, /var/log/syslog revealed DHCP server responce
timeout...

I went out on the internet, and found out about the needed string to
pass. Also to specify your network interface.

so I used

/sbin/dhcpcd -h cxxxxxx-a eth0

/sbin/log/syslog sais DHCP server responce timeout...

I tried debugging... used /sbin/dhcpcd -d -h cxxxxxx-a eth0

/sbin/log/syslog said DHCP_NAK responce received... DHCP server
responce timeout.

I even tried reinstalling and recompiling the newest version of dhcpcd
(1.3.21) -- no luck

Removed firwall, mascarading rules, tried disconnecting eth1 interface
by not loading a module and even removing NIC physically -- no luck

Tried using dhcpcd -r for RFC1541 compliency... Did not work again.

Finally wholly formated hardrive reinstalled the OS... Did not add
internal interface module (just external), loaded it fine, did not add
any masqarading rulesets... Nothing worked.

At this time I thought there might be some sort of DHCP failure on the
network, and I connected my Windows machine directly to the cable
modem. It picked up DHCP without any problems. (The new domain-name,
the new IP adress, DNS servers, etc.)

Reconnected my linux box, tried again. Same thing. Then I tried
assigning static IP information assigned as my DHCP box. Ran
/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 script (the ifconfing IP assignment script)
without rebooting computer -- got onto the internet just fine.
Rebooted the computer --- no Internet connectivity.

No matter how much I rebooted the computer or reran the script -- I
could not get my Internet connection by statically assigning the IP
adress without first trying to get it via DHCP. That would be the end
of it, but unfortunately my internet connection stopped working a few
hours after my static IP assignment (I guess time to renew DHCP lease
;-))

I have no choice now but to try setting up a working DHCP client on my
linux box. There is no other way about it.

If anyone could have any thought about this, or suggestion, on how can
I fix my problem, I would HIGHLY, HIGHLY APPRECIATE your help.

Thank you guys,

Stanley Liberman

[Stanley Liberman]

After restarting the Linux box the next day with the same
configurations I described above, the DHCP client... WORKED!!!!! I
guess it was Comcast.net after all...