Description of problem: When trying to configure static IP's in Anaconda, entering a netmask like "255.255.255.0" causes a crash. I think this is because I'm entering the wrong number, as the entry lines looks like this: IPv4 Address [entry here] / [entry here] (netmask) IPv6 Address [entry here] / [entry here] (netmask) If I recall correctly, for firewalls you have to enter addresses like this: 0.1.2.3/24 or 0.1.2.3/16 , the /number being the netmask... But many people (including me) don't know which is which. Maybe there should be a small 'help' button to define these? Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable): fc6-pre iso's How reproducible: Always Steps to Reproduce: 1. Proceed through the installation steps like normal until reaching the network/hostname configuration 2. Choose Static IP for eth0 3. Enter 255.255.255.0 as the netmask Actual results: A trace occurs Expected results: That it accepts 255.255.255.0 or that there's a help button to show what "/8", "/16", "/24", or /32 represent Additional info: (Thanks for the great work on Anaconda 11!)
At what stage? I've added either a text description or column headers that explain what the input fields accept. For stage1 (the text mode interface that comes up after it says Running /sbin/loader...): If you select manual network configuration, there is a text description at the top of the dialog box that explains that you need to type in an IP address and then either the prefix or dotted-quad netmask for IPv4. For IPv6, you can only enter a prefix. For stage2 (after you see Starting anaconda, the Fedora Core installer...): When configuring the network interfaces, if you do manual I have column headers that say Address and Prefix (Netmask). For IPv4, you can enter either a CIDR prefix or a dotted-quad netmask. They are the same thing, but I've added the prefix ability to match what we need to gather for IPv6 addresses. Dotted-quad netmask notation is still supported since it's so common. The input boxes validate either. For a reference: http://pintday.org/misc/cidr.shtml I'm not going to add a help button that describes the prefix to netmask mappings because we don't need that in the installer. You can enter what you've always entered and it will work. But we have column labels and text descriptions, which help people.
Is the allowing the quad-dot new? Becuase that's what I entered that crashed the installer...
No, dotted-quad has been the only accepted format before FC6. I now take either the dotted-quad netmask (e.g., 255.255.255.0) or CIDR prefix (e.g., /24) for IPv4. You would see input validation problems on big-endian platforms, but that's been fixed today. If you were installing on Mac, for instance, it wouldn't take the netmask or prefix correctly.