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Yes, conferees can now plug their laptops into the convenient power and Ethernet plugs and be on the Internet. Now one can read email or surf the web during breaks, or dare I say it, during boring presentations! To make this task quicker and easier, we have set up a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server that eliminates the tedium of assigned IP addresses (for both the user who has to configure the laptop with the IP address and for CCS who has to assign and keep track of them). Sit down at the table, plug in the laptop, power it on and you are on the net.
Jump to DHCP info for:
Windows | Linux | iBooks and PowerBooks | Wireless (AirPort)
If you have a Windows laptop, go to "Start" -> "Settings" -> "Control Panel" and double click the Network icon. Scroll down until you see "TCP/IP -> some_kind_of Ethernet adaptor" and click. Then click on "Properties." You will now be confronted by several tabbed configuration window panes. In the "IP Address" pane, click on "Obtain an IP address Automatically." In the "WINS Configuration" pane, click on "Disable WINS Resolution." In the "Gateway" pane, remove any installed gateways. Finally, in the "DNS Configuration" pane, click on "Disable DNS." Now click "OK" twice and let Windows copy files from one place to the other and request that it be rebooted. Agree to this request. Assuming the Ethernet PC-card is actually attached to an active Ethernet cable, when Windows has finished rebooting, you should be up and running on the network.
Windows has a tool to monitor and control interactions with DHCP. Go to "Start" -> "Run" then type the command "winipcfg" followed by a click on "OK." In the Selection box of the window that appears, scroll down until you find your Ethernet adapter and you should then see the IP address, gateway address and other addresses that were provided by DHCP. Click on "More Information" to see more pieces of data about the network connection. You can click "Release" to release your IP address back to the pool and "Renew" to ask DHCP for an IP address. You might use these features when you are carrying your laptop to another network and don't want to reboot.
What if you have a Linux laptop? Assuming it is Redhat Linux, you can (as superuser) run the "control-panel" program. Click on the network icon (the one showing a bunch of systems linked together). Then click on the "Interfaces" tab and click on the "eth0" line (or whatever if you have a complicated setup). Click the "edit" button on the bottom. Enable "Activate Interface at boot time" and choose "DHCP" in the "Interface Configuration Protocol" box. Then click "Done" and "Save" and "Quit." After a reboot, the system will come up using DHCP to configure the Ethernet interface.
The Linux utility "pump" can be used to monitor and control interactions with DHCP. "/sbin/pump -s" gives a status report of the negotiated network parameters. "/sbin/pump -r" will release a DHCP address and "/sbin/pump" (no parameters!) will request a new IP address from DHCP. Thus you don't have to reboot to move your Linux laptop to another network.
Have an iBook or PowerBook?. Try this. Go to the "Apple Menu" -> "Control Panels" -> "TCP/IP." Click on the "Configure:" drop down menu and select "Using DHCP Server." Add "tuc.noao.edu" and "kpno.noao.edu" to the "Search domains" field if they aren't already present. Close the "TCP/IP Control Panel" window and click on "Save" when asked whether or not to save changes to the current configuration. Rebooting isn't necessary. The changes take effect immediately.
Also note that we have added an Apple Airport base station to the Conference room setup for those of you with wireless setups on their laptops.
-- Steve Grandi National Optical Astronomy Observatory/AURA Inc., Tucson AZ USA Internet: grandi@noao.edu Voice: +1 520 318-8228 FAX: +1 520 318-8360
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NOAO is operated by the Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc. under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. |
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