Description of problem: The network configuration is lost when a removable hard drive with RHEL 5 is moved from one computer to another. Both computers are the same brand and model and are equipped with the same hardware. Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable): How reproducible: Steps to Reproduce: 1. Install the RHEL 5 hard drive in computer #1. 2. Configure the Ethernet device with a static IP address. 3. Reboot computer #1 and note that the network configuration is maintained. 4. Remove hard drive and install in computer #2. Actual results: At boot, computer hangs with the message "Obtaining IP information" and later fails to start the network interface. Expected results: At worst, expect Kudzu to come up and ask to migrate the network configuration. At best, expect all network settings to be maintained. Additional info: The original ifcfg-eth0 file looks like this: DEVICE=eth0 BOOTPROTO=none BROADCAST=192.5.10.255 IPADDR=192.5.10.1 NETMASK=255.255.255.0 NETWORK=192.5.10.0 USERCTL=no ONBOOT=yes TYPE=Ethernet When the computer finally comes up, the ifcfg-eth0 file has been changed to this: # Intel Corporation 8255xER/82551IT Fast Ethernet Controller DEVICE=eth0 ONBOOT=yes BOOTPROTO=dhcp HWADDR=00:20:ce:81:1b:50
This is changed in the upcoming RHEL 5.2 updates; the network configuration will not be changed if there is no HWADDR in the config file. *** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 288441 ***