Basic Connectivity Information

If you already have an Internet connection running under Windows, it is best to gather some information beforehand to make your Linux Internet setup go a little easier. There are still not enough Linux users for many ISPs to pay attention to. Some ISPs remain ignorant of or hostile to the Linux users they already have. This leads to a general lack of Linux support, especially from the main players.

This means you are not likely to get a shiny CD from your ISP with everything to get you started, but YaST will be there as always to handle that function. The things you need to know most are the following:

• How your IP address is determined Static or Dynamic (DHCP).

• The IP address(es) for your Domain Name System (DNS) server, especially for dynamic connections.

• The DNS names and IP addresses for your mail and news servers.

• The dial-up phone number for your ISP if you're using a dial-up connection.

• Your credentials, such as your username and password.

Every computer connected to the Internet must have a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address. If everyone who wanted to connect to the Internet required a unique machine to provide that IP address, an ISP would have to buy a separate machine with a separate IP address for every subscriber. Because that is not feasible, and because most people use a dial-up connection that is not always on, a solution was worked out. The vast majority of standard ISP connections use the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to assign each logged-in user with an unoccupied server.

Note

You'll learn more about TCP/IP and DHCP networking in Chapter 25, "Setting Up Networks and Samba."

An ISP will then get a range of IP addresses that allow it to connect to the Internet. As a user about to configure your system, you may need to find out what that range is. Often this will be in your ISP's documentation booklet. If it's not there and you have a Windows XP box already connected, check the Network Connections in your Control Panel. You should see your connection listed. Double-click to open it, and then click the Support tab. This will tell you whether you are using DHCP for access or DNS service and should tell you all the necessary IP address(es).

You can also get to this information from a Windows command prompt. Go to Programs, Accessories, and then Command Prompt. Type ipconfig and you will get the IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway addresses. This command is the Windows analog to the Linux ifconfig utility, which you will learn more about in the next section and in Chapter 25.

Note

Depending on your ISP, the range may not be required to make your connection.

If you have a high-speed connection, you may receive a static IP, but even these are often handled by DHCP. Regardless of your connection type, many ISPs will offer you a static IP address, for a price. Unless you want to directly host a server (mail, FTP, DNS), this is not required.