Please help, don't understand

[kxrider85]

I am a complete noob to networking. I'm ambitiously trying to install Ubuntu server on a pc. In the installation process, I am asked to configure ipv4 settings. I don't understand any of it, namely the "subnet", "name servers", and "search domains." Also, I am not currently connected to the internet, so can I even assign this computer an ip address? Please help I'm really confused

[badreg]

Why are you doing a manual config? Is DHCP not available?

[Electronics Wizardy]

You need a IP to connect to the internet.

 

 

The subnet is the same as all the other systems on your network

 

address is a unused ip addr in the same subnet

 

gateway is your router.

 

Name servers is your dns server.

 

[kxrider85]

1 minute ago, badreg said:

Why are you doing a manual config? Is DHCP not available?

it timed out when I tried. I thought maybe you had to be connect to the internet.

[badreg]

1 minute ago, kxrider85 said:

it timed out when I tried. I thought maybe you had to be connect to the internet.

You don't need to be connected to the Internet, but you at least need to be connected to a router, or some other machine running a DHCP server.

 

Otherwise, there's no point in setting up the network interface, because there is nothing you can connect to.

[kxrider85]

4 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

You need a IP to connect to the internet.

 

 

The subnet is the same as all the other systems on your network

 

address is a unused ip addr in the same subnet

 

gateway is your router.

 

Name servers is your dns server.

 

is DNS like 8.8.8.8 or something? If so, what was the address for the DNS server Linus made a video about, I forgot.

and is 255.255.255.0 a subnet (mask???)?

[idiocracy]

Subnet 255.255.255.0/24 if you didn't already write it like that.

Address 192.168.1.20, just an unused ip, if your network is 10 based, then 10.0.0.20.

Gateway is your router ip, so either 192.168.1.0/192.168.1.1 or 10.0.0.1

Name server are probably DNS, so 8.8.8.8 / 8.8.4.4

 

[kxrider85]

4 minutes ago, idiocracy said:

Subnet 255.255.255.0/24 if you didn't already write it like that.

Address 192.168.1.20, just an unused ip, if your network is 10 based, then 10.0.0.20.

Gateway is your router ip, so either 192.168.1.0/192.168.1.1 or 10.0.0.1

Name server are probably DNS, so 8.8.8.8 / 8.8.4.4

 

Okay cool. Just curious, why /24?

EDIT: '192.168.1.20' is not contained in '255.255.255.0/24'

[idiocracy]

24 bits.

Edit: What is your gateway ip?

[kxrider85]

12 minutes ago, idiocracy said:

24 bits. Max is 32, but on home networks i usually see 24, if it didn't work try /32.

Same error with /32

 

"'192.168.1.20' is not contained in '255.255.255.0/32'"

[idiocracy]

2 minutes ago, kxrider85 said:

Same error with /32

 

"'192.168.1.20' is not contained in '255.255.255.0/32'"

What is your gateway ip. Also, /32 wouldn't actually work, i just mixed something up in my head. /32 would make your subnet 255.255.255.255.

[kxrider85]

1 minute ago, idiocracy said:

What is your gateway ip. Also, /32 wouldn't actually work, i just mixed something up in my head.

192.168.1.254 is my gateway

[idiocracy]

7 minutes ago, kxrider85 said:

192.168.1.254 is my gateway

That's odd, but ok. Subnet is still 255.255.255.0/24, but try 192.168.1.250 as ip. Do you know what ip your other devices receive?

Basically just pick an unused ip that's next to other assigned ip's. Just in case your router is set up with a pool range.

[kxrider85]

4 minutes ago, idiocracy said:

That's odd, but ok. Subnet is still 255.255.255.0/24, but try 192.168.1.250 as ip. Do you know what ip your other devices receive?

Same error. All devices on my network have IP's that end between 60 and 220. My PC's ip is 192.168.1.70 for example.

[idiocracy]

8 minutes ago, kxrider85 said:

Same error. All devices on my network have IP's that end between 60 and 220. My PC's ip is 192.168.1.70 for example.

Try somewhere between 60 and 220. I don't know ubuntu server, i don't actually know exactly what it is asking for in "address" besides what ip the machine is being set up for. But maybe you could assign a static ip in your router to the mac address, and then use that ip in "address" and see if it accepts it.

 

Btw, i'm going to bed.
And you might have to visit ubuntu forum, unless someone else can take over while i sleep.

[kxrider85]

1 hour ago, idiocracy said:

Try somewhere between 60 and 220. I don't know ubuntu server, i don't actually know exactly what it is asking for in "address" besides what ip the machine is being set up for. But maybe you could assign a static ip in your router to the mac address, and then use that ip in "address" and see if it accepts it.

 

Btw, i'm going to bed.
And you might have to visit ubuntu forum, unless someone else can take over while i sleep.

Well... I just moved the computer to my router so I could use Ethernet. When connected to the internet, DHCP worked. I will probably refer any more questions to the ubuntu forums. Thanks for the help @idiocracy

[idiocracy]

7 hours ago, kxrider85 said:

Well... I just moved the computer to my router so I could use Ethernet. When connected to the internet, DHCP worked. I will probably refer any more questions to the ubuntu forums. Thanks for the help @idiocracy

So you were on wifi?

Note to self, wired and wireless don't always run on the same subnet.

[NelizMastr]

8 hours ago, kxrider85 said:

Well... I just moved the computer to my router so I could use Ethernet. When connected to the internet, DHCP worked. I will probably refer any more questions to the ubuntu forums. Thanks for the help @idiocracy

Yeah, Wi-Fi doesn't work on Ubuntu Server as there's no GUI to connect it to a network so you need to be on ethernet or run a desktop Ubuntu instead with a GUI.

 

10 hours ago, idiocracy said:

Subnet 255.255.255.0/24 if you didn't already write it like that.

 

/24 is the subnetmask where there are 8-bits left as address space (256-2 for the network address and broadcast) so 255.255.255.0/24 can only exist when 255.255.255.0 is actually your network rather than your mask  . The correct way to write this would be i.e. 192.168.1.0/24 which is a class C network with said subnet mask. 

 

[idiocracy]

Correct. /24 = 255.255.255.0.

192.168.1.0/24 means 192.168.1.0/255.255.255.0 if you write it out.

[schizznick]

IP subnetting is such a huge topic, I'd recommend taking the time to learn how IP's and subnetting works. Many good videos on youtube.

[kxrider85]

10 hours ago, NelizMastr said:

Yeah, Wi-Fi doesn't work on Ubuntu Server as there's no GUI to connect it to a network so you need to be on ethernet or run a desktop Ubuntu instead with a GUI.

 

 

/24 is the subnetmask where there are 8-bits left as address space (256-2 for the network address and broadcast) so 255.255.255.0/24 can only exist when 255.255.255.0 is actually your network rather than your mask  . The correct way to write this would be i.e. 192.168.1.0/24 which is a class C network with said subnet mask. 

 

I didn't even know you had to be connected to the internet to give your PC an ip address. I just though that was why DHCP wasn't working.

9 hours ago, idiocracy said:

Correct. /24 = 255.255.255.0.

192.168.1.0/24 means 192.168.1.0/255.255.255.0 if you write it out.

Just curious, what determines the first part: 192.168.1.X?

3 hours ago, schizznick said:

IP subnetting is such a huge topic, I'd recommend taking the time to learn how IP's and subnetting works. Many good videos on youtube.

Would I just search "IP subnetting?" Any particular recommendations? When I was trying to find answers to my problem online (before making this thread), I couldn't find any useful information at all. I was asking myself: how does anyone learn this stuff? lol...

[Alex Atkin UK]

You don't need to be connected to "give it an IP address", but there is absolutely no point in doing so as DHCP is designed to do that for you once you are connected.

 

Setting a static IP without understanding how your router is configured is just a bad bad idea.

[idiocracy]

2 hours ago, kxrider85 said:

Just curious, what determines the first part: 192.168.1.X?

Basically RFC 4193 determines that. It's like a set of rules we all follow so communication doesn't break because someone is using local ip's as wan ip's etc. So local ip's would be ip's starting with 10, 172.16 and 192.168 and should never be seen externally on the wan, 127 are loopback ip's and are also ignored. I think most routers ignore any traffic from local ip's on the wan side.

 

As mentioned above this is a huge topic, i mean you start researching this stuff and you'll be gone for a year doing nothing else. And it can be really difficult to understand. And it's super easy to mess up, the slightest mistake somewhere and everything stops working. It can take forever troubleshooting network issues.

[kxrider85]

5 minutes ago, idiocracy said:

Basically RFC 4193 determines that. It's like a set of rules we all follow so communication doesn't break because someone is using local ip's as wan ip's etc. So local ip's would be ip's starting with 10, 172.16 and 192.168 and should never be seen externally on the wan, 127 are loopback ip's and are also ignored. I think most routers ignore any traffic from local ip's on the wan side.

 

As mentioned above this is a huge topic, i mean you start researching this stuff and you'll be gone for a year doing nothing else. And it can be really difficult to understand. And it's super easy to mess up, the slightest mistake somewhere and everything stops working. It can take forever troubleshooting network issues.

Where do I start if I want to learn this stuff?

[idiocracy]

22 minutes ago, kxrider85 said:

Where do I start if I want to learn this stuff?

Buy a router you can install pfsense on and just start doing stuff with it. I mean, you can read everything on the web, but reading it and understanding it is a completely different matter. I think you're better off getting some hardware and actually play with it and try getting it to do stuff. Like setting up a VPN.

I have a small router running a i3-4025U, 4gb ram and a 60gb ssd with pfsense running on it. It's enterprise level router software and free. Otherwise you need to take some sort networking education because this shit get's complicated really fast.

 

I have something like this.

Spoiler

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Qotom-Q335G4-AES-NI-Mini-PC_60764993778.html?spm=a2700.7724838.2017115.11.5574a077VWAqkK&s=p