setting up a minimal centos server
IP address, subnet mask, default gateway:
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0
BOOTPROTO=none
ONBOOT=yes
NETMASK=255.255.255.0
IPADDR=10.0.0.0
/etc/sysconfig/network
NETWORKING_IPV6=no
GATEWAY=10.0.0.254
DNS:
/etc/resolv.conf
search domain.com
nameserver <primary ip address>
name server <secondary ip address>
then either use ifdown/ifup eth0 or service network restart
disable iptables on boot with chkconfig iptables off
or temporarily with service iptables stop