Well, I found out the address to thjis switch: it is 10.10.10.5 The address to eth0 is 10.10.10.2 So the broadcast address is 10.255.255.255 for both the switch and eth0 So first I ping eth0: bmike1@3[bmike1]$ sudo ping -c 5 10.10.10.2 PING 10.10.10.2 (10.10.10.2) 56(84) bytes of data. 64 bytes from 10.10.10.2: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.161 ms 64 bytes from 10.10.10.2: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.156 ms 64 bytes from 10.10.10.2: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=0.130 ms 64 bytes from 10.10.10.2: icmp_seq=4 ttl=64 time=0.143 ms 64 bytes from 10.10.10.2: icmp_seq=5 ttl=64 time=0.152 ms --- 10.10.10.2 ping statistics --- 5 packets transmitted, 5 received, 0% packet loss, time 4004ms rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.130/0.148/0.161/0.015 ms That looked good. So then I ping the switch: bmike1@3[bmike1]$ sudo ping -c 5 10.10.10.5 PING 10.10.10.5 (10.10.10.5) 56(84) bytes of data. ping: sendmsg: Operation not permitted ping: sendmsg: Operation not permitted ping: sendmsg: Operation not permitted ping: sendmsg: Operation not permitted ping: sendmsg: Operation not permitted No good. So let's try the broadcast address to make sure the switch didn't lie to me when using cu and minicom. bmike1@3[bmike1]$ sudo ping -c 5 -b 10.255.255.255 WARNING: pinging broadcast address PING 10.255.255.255 (10.255.255.255) 56(84) bytes of data. ping: sendmsg: Operation not permitted ping: sendmsg: Operation not permitted ping: sendmsg: Operation not permitted ping: sendmsg: Operation not permitted ping: sendmsg: Operation not permitted --- 10.255.255.255 ping statistics --- 5 packets transmitted, 0 received, 100% packet loss, time 4011ms That didn't work either. So after reviewing man ping I see the option that let's you specify the name of the device: bmike1@3[bmike1]$ sudo ping -c 5 -I eth0 Usage: pin...... neither worked! I don't even want to guess at what the switch rj45 ports are called (haven't a clue).So then I thing that maybe I can ping it through the serial port (which is /dev/ttys2- why? I don't know! I only have two ports). bmike1@3[bmike1]$ sudo ping -c 5 -I /dev/ttyS2 Usage: pin..... Again, it does not work. So here are the questions: 1- is it possible to ping the switch? 2- what's wrong with the broadcast ping? I meanthe broadcast address for both eth0 and the switch are 10.255.255.255 so even if I can't ping the switch I should get a reply from eth0. This might be part of the problem for 2 here: I looked for eth0 to make sure I was using the right directory. First I ran updatedb and then..... bmike1@3[bmike1]$ ls /dev |grep eth* fb0autodetect fb1autodetect fb2autodetect fb3autodetect fb4autodetect fb5autodetect fb6autodetect fb7autodetect bmike1@3[bmike1]$ uh-ohhhhhh. There aren't any eth's there. bmike1@3[bmike1]$ locate eth0 /usr/share/apps/knetload/icons/hicolor/16x16/actions/deveth0.png /usr/share/apps/knetload/icons/hicolor/16x16/actions/deveth0on.png bmike1@3[bmike1]$ Uh-ohhhhhh. There aren't any eth0s on my system! Nor eth1-9 I have a feeling this is very bad? Am I right? What should I do if it is? Wait: bmike1@3[bmike1]$ ifconfig | grep eth eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:08:C7:CA:62:4B Right. eth0 is the name of a device. But ppp is in /dev (but not ppp0) I am confusing myself. --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change you mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss