[nzlug] Networking 101 question

[Jim Cheetham]

On 09/09/2007, Patrick Connolly <tuxkid at ihug.co.nz> wrote:
> Now, I'm trying to connect via cross-over cable a laptop running Mepis
> 6.5 to a desktop running Fedora Core 6, the latter being connected to
> an ADSL D-link modem DSL-302.

The intention being that the laptop will be able to talk to the
desktop, and also onwards out to the Internet? In that case your
desktop has to know that it is expected to be routing traffic, by
default it'll just ignore stuff that isn't addressed directly to it.

/proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward must be set to "1"

The rude way to set this is to have a new startup script that just
echos "1" into that file. However FC6 may have a setting for it,
someone else will have to name it for you or perhaps you'll be able to
find it by grepping in /etc/init.d ... or possibly if you have a
firewall startup script that would be a good place to put it :-)

Of course everything else has to be right as well, but it sounds like
you're getting there OK.

-jim