RC5 Client Connectivity problems

[Floppyman]

Hey all,

I downloaded and installed the RC5 client for Linux (Mandrake 8.0) however I can't get it to update i.e. fetch or flush any blocks. Everytime I try I get this error:

NET::failed to resolve name "us.v27.distributed.net"
ENOENT: no entry for requested name

Any ideas on this one? Are distributed.net's servers not working or is this problem on my end? Thanks in Advance!

[Floppyman]

hmmm funny, licq won't connect to the network either. I thought the problem was with ICQ but it works fine in Windows. I'm on a network which uses ICS (DHCP) what could be causing the problem? TIA

[WickedLittleSlaveBoy]

run "ifconfig -a" to see if you've been issued an IP. I would drop a line into the /etc/resolv.conf:

nameserver 192.168.0.1

and probably make sure I have the route set up manually, too. if it isn't getting an address from DHCP, you can either give it a static IP or you can try running "dhcpd" to see if you can figure out where it's breaking. also, if it turns out not to be software related, I've noticed that an I/O adress conflict will sometimes leave the NIC somewhat functional, but somewhat nonfunctional, and DHCP is the first thing to go.

truthfully, I can't imagine the DHCP or DNS forwarding functions of ICS being particularly strong, after having seen that MS's enterprise level versions being pretty flaky.

it's an MS OS, reboot. 8)

[Floppyman]

Hey,

Thanks for the reply. Nameserver 192.168.0.1 was already there in the resolve.conf file and the ip this machine got was 192.168.0.3.

Internet works fine (I'm typing this on this machine), I'm wondering if it maybe has something do with the ports the programs are trying to use? The ICQ program times out after "Opening Socket to Server", it can successfully contact the ICQ server though. Could something be blocking the ports? Thanks again.

[WickedLittleSlaveBoy]

yes, I think you have it...since it's not a DNS/DHCP issue, it's most likely going to be ICS's problem.


http://www.practicallynetworked.com/support/icq_nat.htm
http://windows.microsoft.com/windows2000/en/professional/help/default.asp?url=/windows2000/en/professional/help/HowTo_share_conn_config.htm
http://www.duxcw.com/faq/ics/ics_icq.htm

seems like ICS isn't that good of a NAT implementation, a little too harsh...sorry, I've not played with it much, since it doesn't have the configuration or the stability I need, and I would really rather not place my network at the whim of a Windows box. it does seem that you're going to need to map ports, or reconfigure your client to use a firewall. hopefully, the client behaves exactly as a "real" ICQ client does, there seems to be a lot of information on the problem around. if you need to see what port it's trying to connect on, try looking at what ports are open with "netstat", or view the every packet that's being sent and recieved on your network in realtime with "ethereal", if you have it installed(if you don't, install it...).

[Floppyman]

Hi again,

I really don't like using ICS, but my dad uses windows and his computer has the modem, so I really have no choice until broadband comes along. Well I tried those links, downloaded an ICS config program and tried to map ports, no go. I tried adding the UDP port 4000, with translation being "normal", is this correct for ICQ?

Also looked at the netstat file (the one in /bin right?), it was pretty long, but nowhere in there did I see licq. It (licq) seems to be able to contact the ICQ server fine, but right after it says: [UDP] "opening socket to server", it times out. Any more ideas?

[WickedLittleSlaveBoy]

no, netstat won't tell you the program....you have to do a process of elimination by removing all the known ports.

it seems like you need to map an outbound and inbound set of UDP ports, plus I'm seeing that you might need to map a range of TCP ports(2000-4000? or 20000-20019?).....but, the more important thing is that you seem to need to configure your client to use a firewall.

[Floppyman]

Thanks for the reply. I just recently setup the firewall in Mandrake 8 through the Mandrake 8 control center. I also got a new sharing program that is better than ICS that I'm gonna try to see what happens. I'll keep you posted.

[WickedLittleSlaveBoy]

sure. sorry about the delay, I had a busy day yesterday.