Ubuntu Server 12.04 Connection Error Solution

[PhilEaton]

If you cannot ping any websites and cannot get updartes or upgrades, you might have a nameserver issue. GI just installed a fresh copy of Ubuntu Server 12.04 and this has been an issue since I installed it. I did not know what to do, but I check the /etc/resolv.conf file and it was totally blank. The format for this should be (as a sample)
search mysite.biz
nameserver ROUTER
nameserver OTHER ROUTER
You might need to tweak this a bit, I just wrote the same router twice. Save the file, exit and voila! Internet connection again!

[PhilEaton]

as an update, this file is SUPPOSED to be blank and is only used for non-static machines. it is automatically overwritten a every restart. to permanently fix this, edit /etc/network/interfaces and add the line 'dns-nameservers 192.168.1.1' or whatever you router ip happens to be, and save the file. restart networking '/etc/init.d/networking restart' and voila! internet!

[PhilEaton]

http://askubuntu.com/questions/127498/resolv-conf-doesnt-get-set-on-reboot-when-networking-is-configured-for-static-i