NSLU2 Debian Installer Erroneous asking for an IP address

> So, basically even though the user has specified a static IP, the unit
> DHCP's anyway.  Considering that a well-behaved DHCP server will probe the
> active addresses, it's *guaranteed* that not even by accident will the NSLU2
> get the static IP that the user set.  Hence the device is "lost on the
> ether".
>
> Debugging this situation is difficult for the novice.  First, the user set a
> static IP -- there's no reason for them to go check their router to see if
> it issued a DHCP IP in the first place; they're not expecting that to
> happen.  Secondly, many routers don't even provide a means to check what
> DHCP has done, so the user can't discover the IP even if a wiki or document
> told them to do so (I believe that Linksys, one of the most common routers
> in this area, is one such vendor).
>
> Personally, I find this behavior of the installer to be wrong, in the same
> way that I would be angry if my automobile took it upon itself to turn the
> steering wheel for me, because I happened to leave the turn-signal activated
> for too long.  But I'm not a Debian user (I just happen to frequent the
> #nslu2-general IRC channel where this issue has become so commonly asked).
>
> IMO, if this behavior is retained, it needs a gigantic red box (flashing,
> preferably) on the web pages describing the installation process.  Many of
> the users I encounter on that IRC channel are truely novices, so the text
> also should not just limit itself to outlining the behavior, but the
> implications of it as well (that the unit will DHCP and that many users may
> not have routers that offer the ability to see what the DHCP IP might have
> been, resulting in an NLSU2 on the network that is well and truely lost).
> And, no, running nmap to find it is not an option for most of these users!
>
> Regards,
> Mike (mwester)
>
>
>
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>

> So, basically even though the user has specified a static IP, the unit
> DHCP's anyway.  Considering that a well-behaved DHCP server will probe the
> active addresses, it's *guaranteed* that not even by accident will the NSLU2
> get the static IP that the user set.  Hence the device is "lost on the
> ether".
>
> Debugging this situation is difficult for the novice.  First, the user set a
> static IP -- there's no reason for them to go check their router to see if
> it issued a DHCP IP in the first place; they're not expecting that to
> happen.  Secondly, many routers don't even provide a means to check what
> DHCP has done, so the user can't discover the IP even if a wiki or document
> told them to do so (I believe that Linksys, one of the most common routers
> in this area, is one such vendor).
>
> Personally, I find this behavior of the installer to be wrong, in the same
> way that I would be angry if my automobile took it upon itself to turn the
> steering wheel for me, because I happened to leave the turn-signal activated
> for too long.  But I'm not a Debian user (I just happen to frequent the
> #nslu2-general IRC channel where this issue has become so commonly asked).
>
> IMO, if this behavior is retained, it needs a gigantic red box (flashing,
> preferably) on the web pages describing the installation process.  Many of
> the users I encounter on that IRC channel are truely novices, so the text
> also should not just limit itself to outlining the behavior, but the
> implications of it as well (that the unit will DHCP and that many users may
> not have routers that offer the ability to see what the DHCP IP might have
> been, resulting in an NLSU2 on the network that is well and truely lost).
> And, no, running nmap to find it is not an option for most of these users!
>
> Regards,
> Mike (mwester)
>
>
> --
> To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-arm-REQUEST@...
> with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@...