[TriLUG] configuring Linux with my new router

[Richard O. Hammer]

I am stuck on getting my RedHat 7.3 configured with a fixed IP address 
so that it can connect to the Internet through my new router (a 
Linksys Cable/DSL Router with 4-port switch).

Here is the /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0 which I am 
attempting to use:

DEVICE=eth0
BOOTPROTO=static
BROADCAST=192.168.1.255
IPADDR=192.168.1.3
NETMASK=255.255.255.0
NETWORK=192.168.1.0

When I use the above ifcfg-eth0 file I am able to reach my Windows 
machine at 192.168.1.2 (it is also plugged into the router) and I can 
ping the router at 192.168.1.1.  But an attempt to ping an outside IP 
address gets me this error:

connect: Network is unreachable

Each time I change ifcfg-eth0 to try some new idea, I run
/etc/rc.d/init.d/network restart
to commit the changes.

So what am I doing wrong here?

Is there documentation somewhere on the language used in ifcfg-eth0? 
on what the options there are, and what they mean?

For what it is worth, I can get it working if I use dhcp, with the 
following as my ifcfg-eth0:

DEVICE=eth0
BOOTPROTO=dhcp
ONBOOT=yes

If I use that then the router gives my Linux box an IP address and I 
can get out to the Internet.  However I do not want to work this way 
if I can avoid it because I believe having a preassigned local IP 
address will make it easier for me to configure packet forwarding from 
the router.

Also, for what it is worth, I have been able to set up my Windows 
machine with a static IP address working through this router.  So it 
looks to me like it should be possible.

Thank you,

Rich Hammer
Hillsborough