Noted changes have been put in the FAQ. Is there any other changes that need to be made, and do we want to chop some of it as initially proposed by Ray ???
_Lynn ######## updated FAQ ################################## Q. If I want help troubleshooting a connectivity failure with my LEAF router, what information you you need from me? A. The exact information needed will vary by what trouble needs shooting. As a general matter, exact quoting of error messages, log entries, command output, and such, is better than your trying to paraphrase or summarize them. 1.0 Introduction As always in life when the answer hasn't jumped out at you yet and you've just pulled your last hair out, there are several things to check and do, which might save you a post that will be archived forever on the web. Or you're simply not familiar with the LEAF/Linux system yet and need some more information to help you realize exactly what to check and understand. I highly suggest following some, if not all, of the preliminary self-help steps before posting. In fact, your search will most likely get you a correct answer to your problem in a much faster time frame by helping us help you in this manner. The instructions in this document apply to support requests submitted to the leaf-user mailing list or via the LEAF support form on SourceForge. 1.1 Acknowledgements We thank the following people for their corrections and suggestions: Ray Olszewski, Charles Steinkuehler, Jeff Newmiller, Gary Shea, Michelle Konzack, Wayne Fool, Jonathan French, Michael Leone, Dave Emmons, Bill Pierce, Chris Hill, Paul Batozech, and Matt Schalit. 1.2 Distribution Policy A copy of the license is available at: http://sourceforge.net/docman/display_doc.php?docid=1812&group_id=13751 2. Things to do Before Posting Read all available documentation on the site where you obtained the LEAF disk image and in the packages you are using. There are often important READMEs, like the one inside of echowall.lrp, for instance. Check the FAQs at: FAQ Section 05: Fixes for Known Bugs. Subscribe to the LEAF mailing list at: http://lists.sourceforge.net/mailman/listinfo/leaf-user This is not necessary, but it is the polite thing to do. Optional: Search the LEAF mailing list archives at: http://www.mail-archive.com/leaf-user@lists.sourceforge.net/ This may take some time and effort. If you're not familiar with search engines, you may find this difficult. However, in most cases it's faster than asking list members for help. 3.0 Preparing a Post When preparing a post, keep in mind that you're asking for free technical support from people. They have no vested interest in helping you. So it is to your advantage to make it as easy as possible for them to help by including all appropriate diagnostic information. Also, be aware that other people's machines are not the same as yours. If your post is formatted correctly, some of the most knowledgeable people (UNIX gurus) will be able to read it The following is a list of things to keep in mind: Use plain ASCII text. Not all email clients can properly view styled or HTML text. Some will simply strip out the codes used for style/HTML text, while others will display the codes in the message and leave the recipient with a messy email message. In extreme cases (e.g. pine), the recipient will see nothing at all. - see http://www.expita.com/nomime.html for instructions The post should have an informative Subject line, with the important information near the beginning. Include all information in the body of the post. It is inappropriate to send attachments to the list. Please don't edit the diagnostic information in an attempt to conceal your IP address, netmask, nameserver address, domain name, etc... If someone wants that information, they can get most of it without much effort. Obfuscating the details has been done before by the most concerned folks, but doing so often leads to confusion and extra emails, while we sort out the problems resulting from the typos. When you post files that include passwords, you should replace all password characters with the letter "x". 3.1 "Important Information To Include In A Post Since a LEAF system you are troubleshooting is hardly the ideal place to email messages, the problem of how to get diagnostic information into a mailing list message may seem impractical at first. Transcribing messages from the screen is a good way to become familiar with the contents of error messages, but it is likely to end up being abbreviated in inappropriate places, or having errors introduced by the time it reaches the eyes of people who can help interpret it. The recommended strategy is to collect a bunch of diagnostic information from the troubled system into a file, and then use 'sneakernet' to move that file to an internet-enabled computer and insert it. The techniques needed to accomplish this collection and transfer are given in section 3.9 When asking for general help with routing or firewalling questions, you should ALWAYS include this information: The exact name of the LEAF distribution and version you are running. The exact kernel version you are running (uname -a). The complete, exact output of "ip addr show". The complete, exact output of "ip route show". The complete, exact output of "netstat -nr". The exact wording of any "ping" command you issued and the entire output of that command, as well as notes indicating which machines these ping attempts were sent from and directed to > NOTE: Be sure to use ip numbers rather than dns names! Depending on the specific problem, you may want to include some or all of the following: The exact output of "lsmod". (typically for NIC-related problems). The exact output of "ipchains -nvL". (typically for firewall-related problems). Any messages from dhclient in your logs. (typically for setup of DHCP-dynamic external connections). Any messages from ppp or pppoe in your logs. (typically for setup of PPPoE-dynamic external connections). Log files can be found in the /var/log/ directory. The log files most commonly requested are: messages syslog This is not an exhaustive list; we've tried here to cover only the most common sorts of troubleshooting problems that arise. If you have a less common problem or if your ISP does something unusual, you may need to provide other specifics. Several of the LEAF FAQ's will be invaluable to finding other needed information, commands, and interpreting the commands. Some of these FAQ's would be: LEAF Command FAQ Diagnostic Commands Explained -Soon to be posted! 3.9 Copying Diagnostic Information to a Floppy Now, you're to a point where you've tried solve problem yourself, done some very good reading, and found some very useful information about your system. Assuming this hasn't enlightend you with a solution, you would probably like to know of a way of getting this information in a properly formatted email so that someone may be able to help you find an answer to your problem. Writing all that information down with a pencil and paper, then typing these notes into an email sounds like an even more frustrating step to follow. A few basic steps can help you do this with a standard blank floppy disk and bypass most note making that you will need to do. 1.Format a spare 1440K MSDOS floppy as you normally would under DOS, Windows, or Linux. 2.Remove the LEAF disk and insert the new floppy in its place. 3.Mount the floppy by running this command: # mount -t msdos /dev/fd0U1440 /mnt NOTE: If you try to re-use extra space on your LEAF floppy for this, be sure to use the appropriate device name... e.g. /dev/fd0u1680 for a 1680K floppy. This is not suggested!!! 4.Then issue the various command(s) and redirect their output to a text file on the floppy. Examples: (the --- will symbolize an interface like eth0 or ppp0 # echo /var/log/messages: >/mnt/diags.txt # cat /var/log/messages >>/mnt/diags.txt # echo "--- ip addr show:" >>/mnt/diags.txt # ip addr show >>/mnt/diags.txt # echo "--- netstat -nr:" >>/mnt/diags.txt # netstat -nr >>/mnt/diags.txt # echo "--- ipchains -nvL:" >>/mnt/diags.txt # ipchains -nvL >>/mnt/diags.txt Tips: use the up-arrow key to minimize retyping, and use "more /mnt/diags.txt" to confirm that your progress occasionally, as the use of a ">" where a ">>" is needed will wipe out results written earlier. 5.IMPORTANT! Don't forget to umount the floppy before removing it from the LEAF box, or attempting to use the backup option. Command: # umount /mnt You should be able to take the files you have just put on your floppy and cut-and-paste them into a mailing-list email that is formatted as described above.. If your using a Windows computer to send the email with, you can open the floppy files in an editor such as Wordpad and get the information from the floppy disk. We hope this helps you find a fast solution to your LEAF problem. We also appreciate you following this guide, so we can provide you the best possible support in a minimal amount of time. Thank-you! ########## end of FAQ ################################## _______________________________________________ Leaf-devel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/leaf-devel
