During the Nethserver installation at the point where the NIC is conifguarted in the Windows are pre defined values for the IP address and the gateway.
As you can see NIC has 192.168.1.1 and the gateway 192.168.1.253. I suppose the modem will have 192.168.1.0. With this setup I can’t get an internet access as @Ctek posted as well.
In a simple network with a modem to the internet and your server connected with them the modem will be likely the gateway as well. I propose a more common IP address for the gateway or/and some help info.
It entierly depend what is the gateway and the typology of our network!
1- Is you ISP provider modem is your gateway? What is it ip address ?
2- Or did you pretend made your Netserver as the gateway?
For the 1st point: If you choose to let the modem as gateway, put the modem ip address as gateway when configuring NS.
The NS is only a client, like any machines on the Network…
For the 2nd point: If you have more than one NIC in your NS instance, you can configure it as gateway (and treat your ISP modem already as internet/untrusted) .
In this scenario, you have to configure the Red Nic as a client of the modem ( probably in DHCP client, let talk of eth0 ), and you have to configure your Green NIC ( the second NIC, let talk about eth1) with an other fixed ip address, and put the same ip address as gateway.
It will be the gateway for all your network clients.
So, for you, what is a more common IP address? I ask, because on the screenshot above… it’s the eth1 configuration… It mean the second NIC in the NS appliance… It mean the Second scenario…
In my precedent answer, I suppose eth0 as RED, and eth1 as GREEN…
But it’s not forbidden to make eth0 as GREEN, and eth1 as RED… In this case, the modem routeur is not, as you suppose 192.168.1.0, but 192.168.1.253.
In never do the setup this way ( I always done a NetServer setup on a minimal CentOS), so I ask:
At this step, is the rules ( Red, Orange, …) are already done, or not yet?
I agree with you. It is depended on the situation. And frankly speaking to use NS as a modem is totally strange for me. To use NS as a modem is something for an expert not for me
The setup should be design for non-expert user as you has showed at Fosdem. If you read @Ctek post he had the same experience as I that with the proposed gateway IP address the Nethserver can’ get internet access.
I understand the intention of Nethserver in that way that it is a software package every non-expert can setup a simple server for different application. This can be achieved with the GUI, templates (still missing) for different application and sufficient help menu.
The install procedure doesn’t supply any help. It is possible to add a help for every stage of the setup with sufficient information that the user can decide which is the right setting in his application.
I think the best way to make the setup easier for a non-expert, as you said, it’s to setup the first Nic in the computer, and totally ignore others NIC.
And at the first connexion to the GUI, to have a script to help decide the rules of the NethServer ( gateway / server only ) and after, setup the others NIC… Simpler and clear.
Sorry but I can’t get the issue here, the first Lan setup is used for: permit to go outside and be reached by webUI
Others NIC and roles should be configured afterwards using the network panel.
What’s not clear? @WillZen would you mind to describe your network configuration?
Hi Stefan,
The template address is just a convention.
As I have also mentioned, the Gateway has to be specified by the user!
Because this will be the default for LAN (green) address and if you do not have another gateway in your LAN. You can put the same address as the NS ip.
This is not for the RED! is only for Green (lan) and it is ok to asume the same if NS wil be in router/Gateway mode.
@Ctek
Sorry, I cant understand than what was happen. With the wrong gateway IP the installation didn’t went well.
To consider the gateway address in different network configuration can be done with an help menu. At the moment is no help available we you can see at the picture.
.
I installed many software with this kind of front end in my life and most oft them had a help option. Why not here where your slogan is “Nethserver for non-expert admin”
Stefan, As you can see in the image, The configuration is for ETH 1.
This means that it is for the LAN that will be behind the NS.
There are two (three*) possible cases:
1 the NethServer will be your gateway/Router for the LAN and then you set the GW address to the IP address of the ETH1.
2 There already is a Gateway machine, and you want to keep it in that lan. In this case you put the IP address of that Gateway (different than the IP address of the NethServer)
There is no Gateway (or you do not want to set up one)
So to summarize: In most cases you can put the default IP of Nethserver in the IP field and the Gateway field since it will be the only gateway in your LAN.
Any other setting will be done via WebUI.
Anyway. I do not see how or what, menu/help button to be added in this screen.
One possibility is to make the description more detailed but that is about it, in my opinion.
The message should be something like :
"Set parameters for ETH x network interface that will be on LAN side or Green for your network"
instead of current:
“Parameters for network interface: eth1”
and the title maybe : “Green Network configuration”
I’d like to receive comments on an idea I’m developing about network setup during installation.
What do you think of setting only a single ip address on all network cards during installation?
The idea is to “bridge” all cards, you assign only let’s say 192.168.1.1 and connect to that ip via the server-manager. There, with the gui you “break” the bridge and assign all roles, ip and gateway.
This idea may have problems with some VPS, but I don’t know how common are multiple cards on VPS (I know of rackspace).
Hi Filipo, I think that this may complicate things.
Can be that some setups be disturbed by this. Or the users “forget” to un-bridge the cards and run into other issues.
Having the setup only ask for the LAN/Green card IP and Subnet only can be more attractive.
The rest of the setup can be done via WebUI after you connect the first time.
As @Jim has pointed out, we really need to know your network topology and what role you intend for NS and which interface you are trying to configure.
From your screen shots, it shows eth1, which “normally” would be your Green interface. If this is the case, then the IP must be on a different subnet than your router and the gateway should be ignored.
If it is the Red interface, then it would be correct to have the IP on the same subnet as your router and the gateway would be the router IP.
Hi Eddie, The screens are from the tutorial and Stefan was pointed out that the default setting for the GW is 253.
But yes, if it is in the LAN (Green) the GW can be ignored.
As posted before. The gw will not matter if it is the same IP as NS. And NS will be your default GW for the LAN.
If I set up a computer I connect it with with my LAN which has connection via the modem to the internet. Mostly every software wants to have internet connection nowadays and CentOS as well. If the gateway not correct the connection fails.
I agree with that the current setting is correct for GREEN but CentOS expect at this port an internet connection. IMHO the current setup procedure is a contradiction.
To solve the problem one way could be:
In the console setup you assign the IP and gateway address to the modem.
After installation of CentOS and NS you login the first time to NS.
Via the first setup of NS you have to assign GREEN and RED if required.
If you skip the GREEN setup no IP address would be assign to any ETHx
Our idea of the network setup workflow during cd install is:
setup green address
access server-manager via web browser
configure additional zones and addresses (i.e. red, blue etc)
Replicating network setup during cd install is hard, complex and duplicated code to maintain.
Having said this, if we identify all the various scenarios of network setups, we could improve the setup process. But I’d prefer not to add patches over patches.
This ok but you should add this information in the manual. There is nothing about you thought and why is this in this way.
My request came from my expectation and it looks like it is different to yours. So I am coming back the documentation has to be improve. And you have to do something with the request of CentOS to search for updates after the installation. This is the reason I stated this topic.
I was thinking about adding it also in the installation panel, in a note like:
LAN IP configuration (additional zones/interfaces can be configured from the server-manager web gui)
Then, in the first configuration wizard, if you chose a gateway preset template you will be guided in configuring the wan interface.