red

I have a friend that uses a *nix machine for pricing/ordering/sales. The main system is a p133 w 64 mB and a 1gb drive. Connected to this machine are 2 additional "dumb terminals". The box has a card installed that has a huge 50 or so pin connector, to which a sort of "splitter" connects, splitting it into 4 DB25 connectors. Connected to the DB25 connectors are DB25>RJ45 adapters, which then run to the dumb derminal, to an RJ45>DB25 connector then to the port on the back of the terminal. I am guessing these are all serial connections. At present, only 2 of the connections are being used, and we would like to connect to this machine from a windows box. Should we be able to use one of the available connections to connect via serial port from a windows machine to the *nix box and use a terminal program (kermit?) for entering orders/sales? I know you may require more information, but this is all I have ATM. Thanks, RED moved to networking by Ixthusdan

Well......... I found the problem. After searching high and low for a solution and seeing many others with the same issue, I ran across one post that took me back to basics; I needed to make sure Appletalk on the Mac was connecting through Ethernet. This made sense because it then hit me; my W2K server with Mac services and Appletalk installed was not appearing in the Chooser either!! Anyway, to make a longer story short, I checked Appletalk on the Mac, sure enough it was set for serial, not ethernet, changed it to ethernet and both the linux box and W2K box appeared before my eyes!!! Thanks for the assistance anyway! RED

I wish I could give more details, though I do not know what you woudl like to know. Functionally it works just fine, so long as the IP of the MDK box doesn't change, if it does, then the users could be required to reconnect, right? I have created aliases to the shared folder and after reboot, they work just fine, asking for credentials and connecting when the supplied. I just want this the box to be seen by the chooser, thats all. Thanks again, RED

Hiya folks, Well I was finally able to get m MDK 9.2 server running and able to have windows and MAC os 9 boxes talking to it. I have one minor clitch which is keeps me from closing the book on this chapter of my linux experience....The MDK box does not show up in the MAC OS9 Chooser, in order to connect, I must enter the MDK 9.2 IP address. I have gone through all the netatalk config files and tried a host of different options, to no avail. Any ideas? Thanks a bunch. RED

You would actually need both. A second NIC in the Mandrake box and a switch to connect the Mandrake and Win98 boxes to. Then enable Connection sharing in the mandrake box and away you go. Do not buy a hub, get a switch. The best analogy I have found to describe the difference is a garden hose. Where you have Ts stretching hoses all across the yard, as you add another sprinkler, the pressure at each of the others drops. This is similar to a hub. On the other hand a switch has its own little "pump" at each T to provide full pressure (data flow) to each sprinkler (computer or device). Alos, hubs usually do not allow for full duplex data flow, maning that if data is going to a device, any data coming from the device has to wait until there is an opening in the incoming data to send it. A switch can send and receive simultaniously. EDITED after seeing arthur's post. Absolutely correct, a commercially available router is a much simpler solution. and you would not need to add the second nic to the Mandrake box. Just follow the simple instructions included and you will be off and running. Most of the routers have switches built in. Good Luck, RED

Forgive me for sounding like I am slamming you but I have a few thoughts on this, and they are out of concern for your customer. First, you mention you spent 2 years on the other os and now finally talked the owner into switching to linux. Then you say you are a newbie and want a roadmap and directions. Second, you are very insistent about sharing files on the same machine that handles firewall/routing. Bad..very bad, just opens up opportunities if you don't have things secured properly. Third, you say basic security. I think that is the wrong approach, its either secure or it isnt. If you are gonna take the time to do this, at least do it right and follow to the letter the roadmap and directions you requested. Fourth, Save your self a whole lot of headache and achieve the same goal by purchasing a decent firewall/router like the D-Link or Linksys units available that will give you adequate firewall security and internet connectivity. These units have advanced greatly from a couple years ago. Then use the box you want to use for the firewall/router/file server/ etc. and set it up as a dedicated file server, safe and secure. It is hardly good practice to test your knowledge and ability to learn at someone elses expense. A small mistake can expose all of his business information to the world, or worse yet, destroy it. Not a good thing. You would be better off testing and learning in a test environment then use that knowledge to show your stuff when used in a real world scenario. Either way, It is GREAT that you want to learn, and I wish you luck. I do hope you at least told the owner of the klub he would be a guinea pig. Cheers, RED

I have used MNF for over a year now and accessed it from an XP machine using IE6. All you have to do is make sure you are accepting cookies. Two other things: 1. You cannot log in the web interface as root or the other account you created at startup, those are for aconsole access. You MUST use the admin account. 2. The MNF system is very much time sensitive regarding logins. If your MNF system time is more than 1 hour off from the time of the system you are trying to access it from, it will display the same "cookies not found" message and refuse to let you in. I found both of these "features" the hard way, but could not be happier with the capability of MNF. Good Luck! RED

Thanks. uninstalled using mandrake CP. checked all files and deleted those that were not deleted by the uninstall. reboot reinstall. All symptoms the same, still no response from server with nslookup and restart command still indicates the exact same failure when stopping the service and OK to its restart. Still getting error that grep in needed for re install of name-caching server. Could this somehow be linked to the shutdown of the "named" service? also, I used to have 2 bind icons in webmin bind 4 and bind 8. Now I only have bind 8, though I never did anything with the configuration of the bind 4. Additional thoughts welcome. thanks RED

Well, A bit more information. Appearantly even though the "named" service indicates it has started OK, it is not. A. Running nslookup from a client machine indicates no response from the server. B. Bind configuration section of Webmin still shows "Start Name Server" instead of "Apply Changes" as it did when functioning. I ask again..can anyone point me in the right direction with "default" or "as installed" files that may assist in getting this back up and running? Thanks, RED

Thanks, I am concerned with the indicated failure on the shutdown of the service before it is restarted and the fact that Webmin does not know for certain if it is running, and that Mandrake Dontrol Center indicates it is. Also, since then I have again attempted to uninstall and re-install the BIND and name-caching server and receive errors that grep is needed. Grep is installed! Any thoughts on how to get this reinstalled? Also, if uninstalling BIND leaves any files behind, what files should I manually delete if any to be sure a bad file is not being left behind somewhere and causing a problem. Thanks, RED

Would anyone have any idea why I cannot get the "named" service to shutdown and restart. I have tried to uninsall and reinstall but still get the same error. a second attempt at uninstall/reinstall indicates grep nis needed, but grep IS installed. This is my debug info from trying to restart named. # service -d -f named + debug=/bin/bash -x + [[ -f = --* ]] + [[ -f = -* ]] + opt=-f + shift + fullrestart=yes + [[ named = --* ]] + [[ named = -* ]] + service=named + shift + options= + : + [[ -z named ]] + [[ -z named ]] + [[ -n named ]] + [[ -n '' ]] + [[ -n named ]] + [[ -n '' ]] + [[ -z named ]] + [[ -n named ]] + break + [[ -n '' ]] + [[ -n '' ]] + [[ -n yes ]] + check_if_inetd named + local serv=named + [[ ! -f /etc/init.d/named ]] + return + cd /etc/init.d + [[ -f ./named ]] + /bin/bash -x ./named stop + . /etc/rc.d/init.d/functions ++ TEXTDOMAIN=initscripts ++ TEXTDOMAINDIR=/etc/locale ++ LOCPATH=/etc/locale ++ export TEXTDOMAINDIR LOCPATH ++ umask 022 ++ PATH=/sbin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/X11R6/bin ++ export PATH ++ '[' -z '' ']' +++ /sbin/consoletype ++ CONSOLETYPE=pty ++ '[' -z '' ']' ++ COLUMNS=80 ++ '[' -f /etc/sysconfig/i18n -a -z '' ']' ++ . /etc/sysconfig/i18n +++ LC_MONETARY=en_US +++ SYSFONT=lat0-16 +++ LC_COLLATE=en_US +++ SYSFONTACM=iso15 +++ LANG=en_US +++ LC_MEASUREMENT=en_US +++ LC_ADDRESS=en_US +++ LC_CTYPE=en_US +++ LC_MESSAGES=en_US +++ LC_TIME=en_US +++ LC_IDENTIFICATION=en_US +++ LC_PAPER=en_US +++ LC_NAME=en_US +++ LANGUAGE=en_US:en +++ LC_NUMERIC=en_US +++ LC_TELEPHONE=en_US ++ '[' pty '!=' pty ']' ++ '[' -z '' ']' ++ '[' -n en_US ']' ++ GP_LANG=en_US ++ '[' -z '' ']' ++ '[' -n en_US:en ']' ++ GP_LANGUAGE=en_US:en ++ '[' -z '' ']' ++ '[' -f /etc/sysconfig/init ']' ++ . /etc/sysconfig/init +++ BOOTUP=color +++ RES_COL=65 +++ MOVE_TO_COL=echo -en \033[65G +++ SETCOLOR_SUCCESS=echo -en \033[1;32m +++ SETCOLOR_FAILURE=echo -en \033[1;31m +++ SETCOLOR_WARNING=echo -en \033[1;33m +++ SETCOLOR_NORMAL=echo -en \033[0;39m +++ LOGLEVEL=3 +++ PROMPT=yes ++ '[' pty = serial ']' ++ '[' color '!=' verbose ']' ++ INITLOG_ARGS=-q + . /etc/sysconfig/network ++ HOSTNAME=firewall ++ NETWORKING=yes + '[' yes = no ']' + '[' -f /etc/sysconfig/named ']' + . /etc/sysconfig/named + '[' -f /usr/sbin/named ']' + '[' -f /etc/named.conf ']' + RETVAL=0 + prog=named + stop + gprintf 'Stopping %s: ' named + '[' -x /bin/gettext -a -n 'Stopping %s: ' ']' + '[' -n en_US ']' ++ LC_ALL=en_US ++ LANGUAGE=en_US:en ++ gettext -e --domain=initscripts 'Stopping %s: ' + local 'TEXT=Stopping %s: ' + '[' 'Stopping %s: ' ']' + shift + printf 'Stopping %s: ' named Stopping named: + killproc named + RC=0 + '[' 1 -eq 0 ']' + notset=0 + '[' -n '' ']' + notset=1 + killlevel=-9 + base=named + pid= + '[' -f /var/run/named.pid ']' + '[' -z '' ']' ++ pidof -o 2939 -o 2935 -o %PPID -x named ++ pidof -o 2939 -o 2935 -o %PPID -x named + pid= + '[' -n '' ']' + '[' -n '' ']' + failure '%s shutdown' named + rc=1 + gprintf_msg_rest '%s shutdown' named ++ gprintf '%s shutdown' named ++ '[' -x /bin/gettext -a -n '%s shutdown' ']' ++ '[' -n en_US ']' +++ LC_ALL=en_US +++ LANGUAGE=en_US:en +++ gettext -e --domain=initscripts '%s shutdown' ++ local 'TEXT=%s shutdown' ++ '[' '%s shutdown' ']' ++ shift ++ printf '%s shutdown' named + GPRINTF_MSG=named shutdown + shift 2 + GPRINTF_REST= + '[' -z '' ']' + initlog -q -n ./named -s 'named shutdown' -e 2 + '[' color '!=' verbose -a -z '' ']' + echo_failure + '[' color = color ']' + echo -en '\033[65G' + echo -n '[' [+ '[' color = color ']' + echo -en '\033[1;31m' + gprintf FAILED + '[' -x /bin/gettext -a -n FAILED ']' + '[' -n en_US ']' ++ LC_ALL=en_US ++ LANGUAGE=en_US:en ++ gettext -e --domain=initscripts FAILED + local TEXT=FAILED + '[' FAILED ']' + shift + printf FAILED FAILED+ '[' color = color ']' + echo -en '\033[0;39m' + echo -n ']' ]+ echo -ne '\r' + return 1 + return 1 + RC=1 + '[' 1 = 1 ']' + rm -f /var/run/named.pid + return 1 + RETVAL=1 + '[' 1 -eq 0 ']' + echo + return 1 + exit 1 + /bin/bash -x ./named start + . /etc/rc.d/init.d/functions ++ TEXTDOMAIN=initscripts ++ TEXTDOMAINDIR=/etc/locale ++ LOCPATH=/etc/locale ++ export TEXTDOMAINDIR LOCPATH ++ umask 022 ++ PATH=/sbin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/X11R6/bin ++ export PATH ++ '[' -z '' ']' +++ /sbin/consoletype ++ CONSOLETYPE=pty ++ '[' -z '' ']' ++ COLUMNS=80 ++ '[' -f /etc/sysconfig/i18n -a -z '' ']' ++ . /etc/sysconfig/i18n +++ LC_MONETARY=en_US +++ SYSFONT=lat0-16 +++ LC_COLLATE=en_US +++ SYSFONTACM=iso15 +++ LANG=en_US +++ LC_MEASUREMENT=en_US +++ LC_ADDRESS=en_US +++ LC_CTYPE=en_US +++ LC_MESSAGES=en_US +++ LC_TIME=en_US +++ LC_IDENTIFICATION=en_US +++ LC_PAPER=en_US +++ LC_NAME=en_US +++ LANGUAGE=en_US:en +++ LC_NUMERIC=en_US +++ LC_TELEPHONE=en_US ++ '[' pty '!=' pty ']' ++ '[' -z '' ']' ++ '[' -n en_US ']' ++ GP_LANG=en_US ++ '[' -z '' ']' ++ '[' -n en_US:en ']' ++ GP_LANGUAGE=en_US:en ++ '[' -z '' ']' ++ '[' -f /etc/sysconfig/init ']' ++ . /etc/sysconfig/init +++ BOOTUP=color +++ RES_COL=65 +++ MOVE_TO_COL=echo -en \033[65G +++ SETCOLOR_SUCCESS=echo -en \033[1;32m +++ SETCOLOR_FAILURE=echo -en \033[1;31m +++ SETCOLOR_WARNING=echo -en \033[1;33m +++ SETCOLOR_NORMAL=echo -en \033[0;39m +++ LOGLEVEL=3 +++ PROMPT=yes ++ '[' pty = serial ']' ++ '[' color '!=' verbose ']' ++ INITLOG_ARGS=-q + . /etc/sysconfig/network ++ HOSTNAME=firewall ++ NETWORKING=yes + '[' yes = no ']' + '[' -f /etc/sysconfig/named ']' + . /etc/sysconfig/named + '[' -f /usr/sbin/named ']' + '[' -f /etc/named.conf ']' + RETVAL=0 + prog=named + start + gprintf 'Starting %s: ' named + '[' -x /bin/gettext -a -n 'Starting %s: ' ']' + '[' -n en_US ']' ++ LC_ALL=en_US ++ LANGUAGE=en_US:en ++ gettext -e --domain=initscripts 'Starting %s: ' + local 'TEXT=Starting %s: ' + '[' 'Starting %s: ' ']' + shift + printf 'Starting %s: ' named Starting named: + '[' -n '' -a x '!=' x/ ']' + daemon named -u named + local gotbase= force= + local base= user= nice= bg= pid= + nicelevel=0 + '[' named '!=' named ']' + '[' -z '' ']' + base=named + '[' -f /var/run/named.pid ']' + '[' -n '' -a -z '' ']' + ulimit -S -c 0 + '[' -n '' ']' + '[' color = verbose -a -z '' ']' + '[' -r /etc/sysconfig/system ']' + grep -q '^LIBSAFE=yes$' /etc/sysconfig/system + '[' -z '' ']' + initlog -q -c 'named -u named' + rc=0 + '[' 0 = 0 ']' + success '%s startup' named + gprintf_msg_rest '%s startup' named ++ gprintf '%s startup' named ++ '[' -x /bin/gettext -a -n '%s startup' ']' ++ '[' -n en_US ']' +++ LC_ALL=en_US +++ LANGUAGE=en_US:en +++ gettext -e --domain=initscripts '%s startup' ++ local 'TEXT=%s startup' ++ '[' '%s startup' ']' ++ shift ++ printf '%s startup' named + GPRINTF_MSG=named startup + shift 2 + GPRINTF_REST= + '[' -z '' ']' + initlog -q -n ./named -s 'named startup' -e 1 + '[' color '!=' verbose -a -z '' ']' + echo_success + '[' color = color ']' + echo -en '\033[65G' + echo -n '[' [+ '[' color = color ']' + echo -en '\033[1;32m' + gprintf ' OK ' + '[' -x /bin/gettext -a -n ' OK ' ']' + '[' -n en_US ']' ++ LC_ALL=en_US ++ LANGUAGE=en_US:en ++ gettext -e --domain=initscripts ' OK ' + local 'TEXT= OK ' + '[' ' OK ' ']' + shift + printf ' OK ' OK + '[' color = color ']' + echo -en '\033[0;39m' + echo -n ']' ]+ echo -ne '\r' + return 0 + return 0 + unset LD_PRELOAD + return 0 + RETVAL=0 + '[' 0 -eq 0 ']' + touch /var/lock/subsys/named + echo + return 0 + exit 0 + exit 0 Webmin indicates that the status of named is unknown and cannot restart ot shut it down. Drak config shows it is running but it is not doing anything. Thanks for the help. RED

Well, not really. What I really want is to be able to connect via putty from my windows box so i can disconnect the monitor/kbd/mouse from the linux box. Problem is, I can never get the session stay connected, I get "Conection closed by remote host" every time I try to connect. I have made sure port 22 from the local network to the linux box is open, again this seems to be proven by the fact that before I opened it, I received "connection refused" messages from Putty. Thanks for the help. RED

Anyone?? RED

Thanks! Well, as it turned out, I thought I had the SSH server installed but appearantly did not. Now that i have totally fubar's the config file. I cannot tell if I am coming or going. From other posts I have found you asking for some output we.. her eis my output from running ssh-v 192.168.0.1 at a console on the drake box. What can you tell me about this beast? Thanks. RED

Howdy folks, Trying to use Putty to connect via ssh to a 9.2 box running as a firewall/router. Cannot get these 2 to talk. I keep getting connection closed by remote host. I have checked and dbl checked firewall settings so that the local network can connect to port 22 on the firewall. this is proven (at least I think) by disabling that rule and reatarting shorewall, i get connection refused instead of connection closed, making me beleive i am communicating in one form or another. Some guidance woudl be appreciated. I have searched the boards but since "ssh" is too small a string, it returns no results. Thanks, RED P.S. I would also like to use a remote X session or VNC...Thanks.

Got It!!! Put a different monitor in place and it is working fine. However it would only succeed using X 3.3.x not 4.3.x. No biggie here, its a server, not much of a reason to be worried about latest and greatest video display. At any rate, the new monitor was installed, I allowed XFdrake to config everything and it was a no go. I chose the same driver but opted for the 3.3.x version and it tested out just fine. Ultimately I deleted ALL traces of the config files and allowed a brand spankin new one to be written. Thanks for the help folks. now lets get this puppy set up as a firewall/router. Shorewall anyone?? Thanks!! RED

Well, I copied your code to a txt file and moved it into place on the Mandrake box. Still the exact same error. For the hell of it, I pulled out my Knoppix CD and booted into X with a screen resolution of 1024x768....NO DICE! Rebooted and chose 800x600, and whaddya know. I have an X desktop!! So I know the hardware is capable, though I am starting to agree that the monitor is a big part of the problem. I am digging through some newly acquired hand-me-downs for a more capable monitor. This monitor has given me problems in the past, even on a windows system. I will completely reconfigure X once I get a new monitor attached and see what happens. Thanks again!! RED

To answer the last 2 replies. Yes, i tried the standard vesa driver, the SVGA driver, both using the XFdrake and XF86config...and version 3 and 4 of X. I have tried all 3 of the mentioned configuration utilities, all with the same results. The config file was crated with the XFdrake. Just for grins, i have also tried to make sure the Video card has an IRQ allocated in BIOS, unfortunately it does not have that option anywhere, so I am unsure if that could be causing the trouble. This is an ASUS branded HP motherboard with HP bios, and onboard video. I am half tempted to see if a different card installed would change things. It almost seems to me there is something missing, what I do not know. Thanks for the help folks. RED

Thanks much, but still no joy after adding all the lines my config file was missing. Any other ideas? Thanks RED

Howdy all! Been really frustrated trying to find the answer to this problem, unfortunately all the searching of this board and trying the suggested fixes is still leaving me with a black screen. Here is the deal. Installed 9.2 on a 450MHz machine with an onboard ATI Rage Pro AGP 2x video card. Intended use for this system is firewall/router. Install went fine, completed without any incident, including setup of the X screen. Now all i get when running startx is a black screen. I have to use the "windows" key on the keyboard to "scroll" through 6 other logins to get back to the screen that says As I said, i have been all through these boards and have com up empty for any solution that will fix my problem. I have included my config and log file since you all seem to request them alot (rightfully so). I did manage to get X to launch one time while in failsafe mode, but have not been able to do so again. I have also tired all driver options and both XFree86 version 4 and version 3 with the same results. Thank for the help. RED XF86Config-4 Section "Module" Load "glx" # 3D layer EndSection Section "Keyboard" Protocol "Standard" XkbRules "sfree86" XkbModel "pc104" XkbKeymap "us" XkbLayout "us" XkbSymbols "us(pc104)" XkbGeometry "pc" EndSection Section "Pointer" Device "/dev/mouse" Protocol "IMPS/2" ZAxisMapping 4 5 EndSection Section "Monitor" Identifier "monitor1" VendorName "Action Systems, Inc." ModelName "Action Monitor CK-4148" HorizSync 30.0-50.0 VertRefresh 50.0-85.0 # Sony Vaio C1(X,XS,VE,VN)? # 1024x480 @ 85.6 Hz, 48 kHz hsync ModeLine "1024x480" 65.00 1024 1032 1176 1344 480 488 494 563 -hsync -vsync # TV fullscreen mode or DVD fullscreen output. # 768x576 @ 79 Hz, 50 kHz hsync ModeLine "768x576" 50.00 768 832 846 1000 576 590 595 630 # 768x576 @ 100 Hz, 61.6 kHz hsync ModeLine "768x576" 63.07 768 800 960 1024 576 578 590 616 EndSection Section "Device" Identifier "device1" VendorName "ATI" BoardName "ATI Mach64 Utah" Driver "ati" Option "DPMS" EndSection Section "Screen" Identifier "screen1" Device "device1" Monitor "monitor1" DefaultColorDepth 16 Subsection "Display" Depth 8 Virtual 800 600 EndSubsection Subsection "Display" Depth 15 Virtual 800 600 EndSubsection Subsection "Display" Depth 16 Virtual 800 600 EndSubsection Subsection "Display" Depth 24 Virtual 800 600 EndSubsection EndSection Section "ServerLayout" Identifier "layout1" Screen "screen1" EndSection XFree86.0.log XFree86 Version 4.3.0 Release Date: 9 May 2003 X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0, Release 6.6 Build Operating System: Linux 2.4.18-23mdksmp i686 [ELF] Build Date: 10 September 2003 Before reporting problems, check http://www.XFree86.Org/ to make sure that you have the latest version. Module Loader present Markers: (--) probed, (**) from config file, (==) default setting, (++) from command line, (!!) notice, (II) informational, (WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown. (==) Log file: "/var/log/XFree86.0.log", Time: Sat Jan 3 12:45:58 2004 (==) Using config file: "/etc/X11/XF86Config-4" (==) ServerLayout "layout1" (**) |-->Screen "screen1" (0) (**) | |-->Monitor "monitor1" (**) | |-->Device "device1" (==) |-->Input Device "Implicit Core Pointer" (==) |-->Input Device "Implicit Core Keyboard" (**) Option "Protocol" "Standard" (**) Option "XkbKeymap" "us" (**) XKB: keymap: "us" (overrides other XKB settings) (==) Keyboard: CustomKeycode disabled (WW) No FontPath specified. Using compiled-in default. (==) FontPath set to "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc:unscaled,unix/:-1" (==) RgbPath set to "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb" (==) ModulePath set to "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules" Using vt 7 (--) using VT number 7 (II) Open APM successful (II) Module ABI versions: XFree86 ANSI C Emulation: 0.2 XFree86 Video Driver: 0.6 XFree86 XInput driver : 0.4 XFree86 Server Extension : 0.2 XFree86 Font Renderer : 0.4 (II) Loader running on linux (II) LoadModule: "bitmap" (II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/fonts/libbitmap.a (II) Module bitmap: vendor="The XFree86 Project" compiled for 4.3.0, module version = 1.0.0 Module class: XFree86 Font Renderer ABI class: XFree86 Font Renderer, version 0.4

I have to ask...was that a sarcastic "wow 100+days..." or was it like Wow, that really is a good run with no restart? :D Thanks! Red

Well i think i resolved the problem, or at least I have ended up with the desired operation of my internal local domain. Just yesterday I took the firewall down after running for 100+ days (August 14, the date of the infamous midwest blackout was the last day it was down) to test a different firewall solution. Well when it did not work, I attempted to rebuild the machine with a ghost image I had saved just after shutting it down, well all i ended up with was a screen full of "01 01 01 01 01 01" and had to reinstall and configure the MNF firewall. Seeing as it was down and being reworked anyway, i tried a few things. In the DNS forwarders, the blanks are usually set to forward DNS calls to your ISP DNS servers, well I put my internal network DC/DNS server IP address as the primary and the ISP DNS server as the secondary, and guess what, It worked just fine. THe MNF firewall is listed as the primary and the DC/DNS server is listed as secondary. Now all DNS calls look for the address at the local network DNS first, then they drop back and sent them to the ISP DNS when the public names cannot be resolved. I know this is not the best answer, as this should be configured via the MNF DNS server, but as you can tell, I have not been able to get that functioning correctly. At any rate, I guess there is more than one way to skin a cat. If anyone can help me configure the actual DNS server to do this correctly, I would appreciate it, but until then, I am satisfied with my setup as is. Thanks!! RED

Steve, Just out of curiosity, what problem are you seeing with your cable internet connection? I had some trouble with a cable internet connection as well and am thinking we can compare notes. let me know RED

Is that it?? No further responses from the Linux Gurus? You can't tell me someone doesn't have a shred more information to give that may allow the desired function of this software. Thanks, RED

The MNF box handles the firewall, DHCP server, Internet gateway, DNS cache, and proxy. Everything is working fine in that regards. (Internal IP address 192.168.0.1) (External IP Assigned by DHCP from ISP) I have an internal domain ran by a W2k box running active directory (IP address 192.168.0.2). The W2k DC (192.168.0.2)must be listed as the primary DNS server on all clients or they cannot find the domain when authenticating, producing errors like the domain controller canot be found. It also seems that this causing an extra hop in internet access for the clients. Client>192.168.0.2>192.168.0.1>ISP DNS server. I just want the MNF box to forward requests for the local domain to the W2k Box so the w2k box handles only internal traffic instead of ALL traffic as it appears to be doing right now. Everything works fine so long as the W2K box is listed as the primary DNS (192.168.0.2). Also, as you state at the end of your message. I can access the server in both manners when the W2k box9192.168.0.2) is listed asnteh primanr DNS, if I list the MNF box(192.168.0.1) as the primary DNS, I can only access the server by computer server1 I cannot get to it by server1.local.domain. If I list the W2K box first, I can access it with both commands. Thank You very much again for your help. RED