Can't ping my unix box by name

Linux and Unix-Like Red Hat
1

Hi All,

I have recently setup a Windows 2003 server as AD / Domain Controller. In it, I have a VMWare for RHEL 4. I have 3 other computers connected to the network all using Windows 7. These computers can ping each other by name. But none of these can ping the Unix OS in the VMWare of the Windows 2003 server. Even the Windows 2003 server machine can't ping the VMWare unix.

Are there any additional setups that needs doing?

Thanks.

2

yes ... and lot's of it; I think too many to explain all here. But here are some things that you can research.

  1. Is the VM using bridged or NATed?
  2. Do you have a DNS?
  3. DHCP or static IP?

If you don't have DNS and DHCP and if the VM is bridged and has a static IP address, you can edit the "hosts" file on each windows box and add an entry for the vm. The host files should be under C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc and you will need to edit it as "administrator".

HTH.
-RN.

3

I set it up as bridged.

I think I'm using my ISP's DNS servers.

I set it to static IP only on the Unix Box.

I did this and it does work. But not what I had in mind but thanks.

4

if you want to avoid adding entries to the host file, you will either have to setup your own dns server or use the one in your router if that provides this functionality.

the reason the windows PCs work without all this additional setup i think is because the windows pcs do a lot of network discovery requests using some cifs or something protocol built into windows networking. very wasteful when networks were slower i think, don't matter as much now that networks have improved.

-RN.

5

The Microsoft Windows discovery protocol is called Link Layer Topology Discovery

6

Essentially, you will either need to set up DNS or modify the C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts file on windows

and the /etc/hosts file on the linux machine.

There are examples within both to instruct you on how to properly make the changes to allow resolution by the canonical name.