Subject: Re: Network blues.
To: Ib-Michael Martinsen <imm@nethotel.dk>
From: Erik E. Fair <fair@clock.org>
List: port-arm32
Date: 10/25/1998 09:41:06
Oct 25 14:36:42 riscpc /netbsd: arplookup: unable to enter address for c0a850fe

I've seen this before. That hex number is an IP address. It is
192.168.80.254 and that's the IP address of something on your Ethernet that
is ARPing with an address that does not match your machine's idea of the IP
network number and mask for your Ethernet.

The condition I saw this in was on a network with an insane router which
was ARPing with a source address from its WAN interface - clearly wrong.

In your case, it's probably not an insane router - just a number mismatch.
I note that the third octet in all your examples is 89, but the router is
blaring "80" - are you sure about the numbers that were given to you by
your ISP which you've entered in your configuration?

For ethernet to work, the two (or more) hosts involved have to agree on
some things:

1. the network mask (how many bits of an IP address are network number, and
how many are host number) for all hosts on that wire must be the same.

2. the IP network number for all hosts on that wire must be the same.

3. the IP host numbers for all hosts on that wire must be different.

What you're seeing indicates a mismatch of either or both the network mask
and/or the IP network number. I'd contact your ISP and reconfirm the
numbers they gave you for your manual configuration against what you're
seeing on the network wire because they don't match.

Until then, you can probably make this work by using 192.168.80.234 instead
of 192.168.89.234 on your Ethernet interface.

	Erik <fair@clock.org>