[lug] Fedora 16 and network alias

[dio2002 at indra.com]

> ...
>> Even with proper permissions, and network restart, no alias ever shows
>> up. If I specifically use ifconfig on any alias name, whether it has
>> a script or not, e.g., "ifconfig em1:25", it shows up without error,
>> but unconfigured, like this:
>>
>> em1:0     Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff
>>           UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
>>           Interrupt:41 Base address:0x8000
>> ...HWaddr edited, but it is the valid MAC in the real output.
>>
>> Does anyone here know why Fedora 16 ignores a valid alias file? This
>> install is a fairly normal installation for a developer, and kept up
>> to date.
>
> Well, are they using the old 'network' service (not default) or
> NetworkManager (default now)?
>
> Does a 'ifup em1:0' work to bring it up?
>
> You may need a:
>
> NM_CONTROLLED=yes
> (or no if you are using network).
> ...
>
> The config was missing the NM_CONTROLLED, but regardless of using this or
> not, and regardless of using service network restart or NetworkManager
> restart,
> nothing happens. ifup em1:0 has an effect only with NetworkManager yes,
> but
> not the desired effect of an alias.
>
> It does seem there is additional validation going on in the case of
> NetworkManager=yes,
> because if I name an alias that has no alias configuration, NetworkManager
> complains
> of no configuration file; there is no complaint when using ifup no matter
> which configured
> or unconfigured em1:number alias is used (e.g., ifup em1:29 has no
> complaint). With
> NetworkManager used and NM_CONTROLLED,  ifup results in the original dhcp
> non-alias apparently overwriting dhcp with the static address showing as
> em1 from
> ifconfig, not an alias (em1:0 does not exist, and em1 becomes static;
> single-homed).
>
> In summary, ifup has no effect without NM_CONTROLLED, and with it the
> configuration of the non-alias is lost, overwritten by the alias.
>
> So...how can I get the em1:0 to work without em1 dhcp config being lost?
> The
> syntax in the config is correct, using em1:0 and file ifcfg-em1:0...so
> something
> is ignoring the fact that it is an alias.

i'm just going to take a guess here. my guess is it might have somethign
to do with the fact your mixing a static and nonstatic (dhcp) address on
the same interface.  for grins, try giving em1 a static address too and
see if the behavior is the same.. this is totally a guess btw. :)  i'm not
a big fan of networkmanager regardless.