Installation guide

Chapter 6.

Network Conﬁguration

To communicate with other computers, computers need a network connection. This is ac-

complished by having the operating system recognize an interface card (such as Ethernet,

ISDN modem, or token ring) and conﬁguring the interface to connect to the network.

The Red Hat Network Administration Tool can be used to conﬁgure the following types of

network interfaces:

• Ethernet

• ISDN

• modem

• xDSL

• token ring

• CIPE

• wireless devices

To use the Red Hat Network Administration Tool, you must be running the X Window

System and have root privileges. To start the application, use one of the following methods:

• On the GNOME desktop, go to the Main Menu Button (on the Panel) => Programs =>

System => Network Conﬁguration.

• On the KDE desktop, go to the Main Menu Button (on the Panel) => System => Network

Conﬁguration.

• Type the command redhat-config-network at a shell prompt (for example, in an XTerm

or a GNOME terminal).

If you prefer modifying the conﬁguration ﬁles directly, refer to the Ofﬁcial Red Hat Linux

Reference Guide for information on their location and contents.

Tip

Go to the Red Hat Hardware Compatibility List (http://hardware.redhat.com/hcl/) to determine if Red

Hat Linux supports your hardware device.

6.1. Overview

To conﬁgure a network connection with the Network Administration Tool, perform the

following steps:

1. Add the physical hardware device to the hardware list.

2. Add a network device associated with the physical hardware device.

3. Conﬁgure any hosts that can not be looked up through DNS.

4. Conﬁgure the hostname and DNS settings.