DHCP will not engage / disengage

Support knowledgebase (jrodman_dhcp63)
Applies to

SuSE Linux: Version 6.3
This article refers to an older version of SuSE Linux. Therefore some of the informations given in this article may be outdated or the article may contain stale links.

Symptom:

This problem can manifest in one of two ways.

  1. You are trying to use DHCP as a client. You enabled the AUTO-IP feature in YaST under System administration -> Network administration -> Network base configuration by pressing the F3 key on your keyboard. However, the interface is never set up, and the dhclient does not seem to run.

  2. You are trying to use normal networking. You can connect to other machines by name, but not by IP address. You know you are connecting normally with your network or provider. Your troubleshooting finds that the file /etc/resolv.conf is either missing or out-of-date.

Cause:

In 6.3, YaST can enable DHCP on an interface by interface basis, but it does not generally enable or disable the DHCP client. This causes the above symptoms in the following ways.

  1. You installed using Yast2 - the graphical installer - or during your Yast1 install you selected you did not want DHCP. As a result, the value of DHCLIENT is set to "no" in your /etc/rc.config file. SuSE checks this value before starting the client, and thus does not start it.

  2. You installed using Yast1, and selected you did want DHCP. Since DHCLIENT is enabled in the /etc/rc.config file, SuSEconfig will correctly skip creating your /etc/resolv.conf file. Even if you disable the obvious DHCP interfaces in Yast, this variable will remain.

Solution:

You may use YaST or a text editor to change the variable. In YaST, select System administration -> Change configuration file -> DHCLIENT and press F3 for Change Value. If you choose to use a text editor, open the file /etc/rc.config and change the line which reads

DHCLIENT="yes"

or

DHCLIENT="no"

.

If you are trying to use DHCP, be sure it is set to yes. If you are not in a DHCP environment, be sure to set it to no.


See also:
o DHCP client details for broadband providers
o Client configuration of DHCP

Keywords: DHCP, CLIENT, BOOTP, RESOLV.CONF, RESOLVE NAMES

Categories: DHCP

SDB-jrodman_dhcp63, Copyright SuSE Linux AG, Nürnberg, Germany - Version: 09. Dez 1999
SuSE Linux AG - Last generated: 09. Dez 1999 by jrodman (sdb_gen 1.40.0)