No "mirrors" Connection on Net Install

[Bubo]

Hi

I am trying to install Deb 3.1 (sarge) using the net install cd. I get through the first reboot okay and then a second set of setup windows appear, one of which requires me to select a local mirror to download the rest of the installation. The install always hangs at this point and will not connect to any mirrir that I select.

I switched to another shell and tried some pings, which all worked, except when I tried some of the mirror addresses I was having problems with. I also checked ifconfig and found that the IP address was assigned in to the correct range by the dhcp server on the smoothwall.

So, I can ping my firewall (smoothwall), I can ping my modem/router (between smoothie and internet), I can ping google, yahoo etc and their corresponding IP's but if I try and ping any of the mirrors the install cd suggests it just hangs. I eventually get a request timed out error.

I suspect this is a dns issue, but being new to Deb I am not sure where to look to resolve it.

Am I on track with this, and if so, how do I resolve the probelm please.

Bubo

[Bubo]

Is there no one that can help me out with this !

I was thinking it was a DNS problem as I could not ping any of the mirrors suggested by the net install cd. One of them, for example was debian.blueyonder.co.uk.

I then found that I could not ping that address from my Win Xp box either which is on the same lan which is also suggestive of a DNS issue. However that mirror would not respond to pings even when I entered the IP address rather than the domain name.

After a few days of trying various settings I have got nowhere.

And the final straw, which has really confused me is that I have just tried pinging that mirror from my work box, which is also behind a smoothwall (and which I know is properly configured), and I got "request timed out" again on both the domain name and the IP address.

When I try to connect to any of the mirrors offered by the install cd I get an display along the lines of:

apt-get (1.0.0.0)

then the connection times out and it tries to connect again, with the same display, then it times out again and so on, and so on, and so on....

Is this a conspiracy against UK deb users or am I being completely thick.

Either way, please put me out of my misery aaaaaaaaaargh !

Bubo

[antidrugue]

I switched to another shell and tried some pings, which all worked, except when I tried some of the mirror addresses I was having problems with. I also checked ifconfig and found that the IP address was assigned in to the correct range by the dhcp server on the smoothwall.

So you are using DHCP?
Network is detected OK?

Which Debian Sarge install are you trying? The latest one?
debian-31r2-i386-netinst.iso

Did you try the official Debian UK mirror? That one cannot possibly be down.

Also, what boot command are you using?
When putting the Debian CD in, do you use

linux

Or something else? You can try the install with a 2.6 kernel instead, see if it works for you:

linux26

at boot prompt.

Also, if the default Sarge installer (revision 2) really doesn't work for you, then you can try a newer installer. Perhaps Etch installer (Beta 2):
debian-testing-i386-netinst.iso

[Bubo]

Hi

Thanks for the response.

So you are using DHCP?
Network is detected OK?

Yep, the smoothwall runs a dhcp server and I have internet/network access across the lan in as much as I can use the internet on my win box and my lappie (running mepis) and I can access samba shares on the win box from the lappie (samba running on the lappie at the moment).

I did notice that when pinging domain names from the deb box, as opposed to actual IP addresses, the pings were generally alot slower. Which is I kept thinking DNS problems. I really don't know anymore, I have tried all manner of settings and nothing will get it to go.

Which Debian Sarge install are you trying? The latest one?
debian-31r2-i386-netinst.iso

Thats the one, downloaded just last week.

Did you try the official Debian UK mirror? That one cannot possibly be down.

I have tried every mirror offered as an option by the install cd in the UK section. Same result every time !

Also, what boot command are you using?

I used:

linux26

Also, if the default Sarge installer (revision 2) really doesn't work for you, then you can try a newer installer. Perhaps Etch installer (Beta 2):
debian-testing-i386-netinst.iso

You may be right, however I am wanting to use this box as a general purpose server (web, ftp, file, mail etc) so I wanted something relatively stable. Perhaps I am off course in my thinking that though?

[antidrugue]

You may be right, however I am wanting to use this box as a general purpose server (web, ftp, file, mail etc) so I wanted something relatively stable. Perhaps I am off course in my thinking that though?

That's not a problem, you can use whichever installer you want. During the installation (at least during the expert one) it ask you for which flavor (stable,testing,unstable) you want.

If even the testing Netinstall doesn't like your machine/DNS settings then you may want to try the normal install. You can always install the BASE system, and apt-get the rest.

[Bubo]

Thanks for that.

I'll give it a try, it cant be any worse than what I have now

I'll download a few and see how I get on, is there any merit in trying woody as I have a good server how to kicking around for that ?

Bubo

[antidrugue]

is there any merit in trying woody as I have a good server how to kicking around for that ?

Hum... Sarge is rock solid enough. Woody is really legacy now (default kernel is of the 2.2 branch).

I use Sarge on my servers, with Debian-volatile packages for CLAMAV, and custom vanilla kernels (there is a glich in Sarge 2.6.8 kernel smb/cifs handling, so I use 2.6.12.X; don't use 2.6.13 and up because it doesn't work well with Sarge's udev version).

[brokndodge]

have you tried miirors outside the uk? I'm in the US but when I do an install I select a variety of mirrors all over the world. occassionally I find the US mirrors and UK mirrors not reponding, while the Belgiun mirrors are working fine. Thats something I started doing maybe a year ago. I'll pick 2 mirrors from several different regions.

[dreamboat]

Have a look in your /etc/resolv.conf file
There should be a nameserver given in there.... if it is 192.168.0.1 or something like that, then it is trying to use the modem as a nameserver which will not work!
Find the recommended DNS from your ISP and change the value in the resolv.conf to that.

There is then another step which has to be taken to stop this nameserver value beig reset back to its original value.... I can't recall it at this stage




Rob