Getting a DHCP Address in a Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Red Hat Linux 9.0 or Red Hat Advanced Server Virtual Machine

This problem has been seen on Mandrake Linux, SuSE Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and Red Hat Linux guest operating systems, but is most often seen in Red Hat Linux 9.x or Red Hat Advanced Server guests.

1. Become root (su -) and use a text editor to edit the following files in the guest operating system:
   
   /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0
   /etc/sysconfig/networking/devices/ifcfg-eth0
   
   Also edit the following file, if it exists:
   
   /etc/sysconfig/networking/profiles/default/ifcfg-eth0
   
   The third file is updated any time you run redhat-config-network and make changes in the Network Configuration panel.

   In all cases, eth0 is the number of the Ethernet adapter.

2. In each of the files, add the following section:  

    check_link_down () { return 1; }  

3. Next, run the command ifup eth0 or restart the guest operating system.  

Note: If you later run redhat-config-network again, check the file /etc/sysconfig/networking/profiles/default/ifcfg-eth0 to make sure the section you added to it remains intact. In some circumstances, the closing curly brace (the } character) might be dropped when you use the Network Configuration panel.