Nfs/Nis using OS 11.3 machine as router

English Network/Internet
#1

I had an OS 11.3 machine running as an Nis server with Nfs, also providing dns, squid, samba shares and running apache

Internet connection provided by a netgear router at 192.168.0.1, server at 192.168.0.2, clients at 192.168.0.3, 192.168.0.4, etc. The clients all being configured to use the server for dns the squid running on it for their proxy, logging on with Nis using the exported server’s Nfs /home share as /home on the clients

Everything was setup through Yast with some conf file editing being done later for samba and apache and all working brilliantly

Until …

I added another network card to the server machine and set it up as a router, where they will be placed once ready the router providing the internet connection doesn’t have gigabit ethernet

So I figured if I had gigabit cards in the clients and a gigabit card in the server set up for the internal zone and providing routing, then the clients using it as their router the local stuff would be more responsive, especially as they are using an nfs share for /home

I set the clients up to use the server at 192.168.1.1 for their router and changing their own local ip addresses to suit, i.e. 192.168.1.2, 192.168.1.3 etc and rebooted

Nis and nfs were no longer working, so I logged on as the local user, ecky, who’s home directory isn’t in the nfs share but at /ecky, the internet connection worked fine and so did everything else, dns, proxy, etc

I tried changing the nfs share and nis server to the internal card’s ip, 192.168.1.1 and that didn’t work either

Samba shares work at both 192.168.0.2 and 192.168.1.1, so my problem is that nis logons and nfs mounts don’t work from either address

I’ve tried to give as much info as possible on what I’ve done without being too confusing … don’t know whether I succeeded :?

Darned annoying cos it took me a day and a half to get the gigabit card to detect properly in one of the machines… but that’s another thread lol

Hope someone can help me get unconfused on this one

#2

I guess my first question is whether you considered leaving your Server with a single NIC (not multi-homed).
There can be good reasons for forcing Internet traffic through your Server, but trying to improve throughput wouldn’t be one (and depending on the loads might actually decrease performances).

If as you say you are purely trying to improve LAN performance, then I’d suggest you leave everything as before, install a Gbit NIC in every Host and invest in a Gbit switch to connect the hosts in your network. And, remember to make sure your cabling is Gbit rated, too.

Gbit ethernet cards are usually multi-speed downwards compatible (unless you’re using a different physical medium like fibre) so will self-adjust to the host/NIC they’re communicating with.

HTH,
Tony

#3

Tony’s correct. The migration to Gb NICs is a separate issue to using your server as a router. Personally I also don’t see the need to make your server a router, you could leave it single-homed with the original address.

But in answer to your question, have you checked the firewall rules for NIS and NFS? Or other places where the old IP address may be embedded?

#4

The physical environment the machines will be used in is such that the internet gateway router will be somewhere else in the building and doesn’t have gigabit capabilities

My thinking was to connect the server directly to the internet gateway then run a cable from the server’s gigabit card to the room the clients are situated in plugged into a gigabit switch, plug the clients into the switch

I’m just trying to make sure that access to files/profiles etc from the nfs /home is as smooth as I can make it, I suppose I could run two cables into the switch, one from the internet gateway and one from the server, not using the gigabit card in the server for routing

Which leaves me asking, would just using the gigabit card instead of the onboard 10/100 card give me gigabit speeds across the local machines and have I just been over-complicating it for myself

Reading what you’ve both said I think it’s probably the case

It’s 00:15 here so I’ll try it out tomorrow and let ya know

Cheers

#5

Sure, by all means use a Gb NIC instead of the built-in 100Mb NIC on the server. But I doubt if the Internet link requires a Gb link, so that cable can remain 100Mb and be plugged into the Gb switch, which will autonegotiate that port to 100Mb speed. So there’s no need for your server to be a router. It’s not necessary for all links to be at the same signalling rate. The switch will adapt to each link.

#6

The reason I was thinking of doing it that way is because the switch and clients will be in a different room on a different floor to the internet gateway and server, so I figured it would be easier and tidier to just run one cable to the switch from the server

There is also plain old curiosity as to why I can’t get nis and nfs to work anymore just because I added another nic and set the machine to provide routing, but it’s not crucial, just would have meant one less long cable to run really

#7

Recommend considering re-locating your Server closer to your Gbit switch. It might also improve performance slightly if the run from switch to Internet Router is very long.

If I were to guess at your NFS/NIS problem, it’s likely a firewall issue, maybe configured backwards.
It happens. Sometimes OS will re-assign a “primary” interface when new hardware is installed, making assumptions about which is LAN or WAN. Don’t know if it applies to SuSE, but I’ve seen it elsewhere.

Tony