network won't start if static ip specified in karmic

[James]

Binary package hint: netbase

Ubuntu 9.10
package: 4.35ubuntu2

Network manager has no way of specifying a static ip (because the "auto eth0" entry will override any specified static ip) so most users are defaulting back to the standard way of specifying a static ip using /etc/network/interfaces, however networking does not start up correctly with these settings.

To reproduce:
1) Remove network manager and edit /etc/network/interfaces as outlined in this page
http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/screed/?p=1291
2) Reboot:

$ping www.google.com
ping: unknown host www.google.com
$ping 64.233.169.104 (google's ip)
connect: Network is unreachable
$sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart
* Reconfiguring network interfaces... [OK]
$sudo service networking stop
stop: Unknown instance:
$sudo service networking start
networking stop/waiting

For other users having this problem see:
http://osdir.com/ml/ubuntu-users/2009-11/msg03482.html
http://ubuntu-virginia.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1310645

I am personally having this problem on two separate computers (one upgrade, one fresh install)

thanks.

[James (morris-570)]

As far as uninstalling network manager I ran:

sudo update-rc.d -f NetworkManager remove
sudo apt-get remove network-manager network-manager-gnome

[Erik B. Andersen (azendale)]

I'm able to get a static ip with Network Manager.

What I did:

1. While Auto eth0 is active, Right click on the network manager applet icon and click connection information.
2. Go to the Auto eth0 (default) tab.
3. Write down the Hardware Address, Subnet Mask, Default Route, and the DNS addresses.
4. Right click on the Network manager applet icon and click edit connections.
5. On the network connections window and the wired tab, click add.
6. Put the Hardware Address you wrote down in the MAC address field on the wired tab.
7. On the IPv4 Settings tab, set the method to Manual.
8. Click add.
9. Put in the static address you want, the Subnet Address as the Netmask, and Default Route as the Gateway.
10. Put the DNS addresses in the DNS servers field with a space between them.
11. Hit apply.
12. Click on the Network Manager applet and then wired connection 1.

Hopefully that helps.

[James (morris-570)]

I tried this and I don't know why this didn't work before. Two things to note:

1) I am using kubuntu so I don't have a MAC address field, but I was able to set "Restrict To Interface:" to (eth0)

2) After reinstalling network manager I no longer get an "Auto eth0" listed in the network manager applet--before, I could never uninstall this "auto eth0" entry--now I have a "ifupdown (eth0)" entry.

But it seems to be working. Thanks.

[James (morris-570)]

Sorry I'm still having a problem with this (across two computers--which makes me think it's a bug). After making these changes I've noticed that my computer doesn't get an ip until I log into KDE (which starts the Networkmanager configuration). So it seems to work if I log in. But I'm assuming that I should have an ip before logging in (it would seem stupid to have ip assignment dependent on whether you logged in)

I've configured it for dynamic ip until I get to the bottom of this problem. Whether or not NM is enabled (managed=true) I cannot start my network:

$sudo service networking restart
restart: Unknown instance

$sudo service networking start
networking stop/waiting

$sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart

(ifconfig does not show eth0 interface)

$ping www.google.com
ping: unknown host www.google.com

$sudo ifup eth0
(ping works)

Bottom line: No configuration will automatically start the network--I have to manually run "ifup" to get the network to start.