laptop fc7 with NetworkManager couldnt find wired ip

[jackson byers]

on new laptop, with fc7
NetworkManager in charge
couldnt get on network with wired connection to router
ifconfig kept giving    eth0  169.254.xxxx

finally from google search on 169.
  DHCP Considerations

DHCP clients automatically give their NICs and IP address starting
with 169.254.x.x until they can make contact with their DHCP server.
When contact is made they reconfigure their IP addresses to the values
provided by the DHC server. An interface with a 169.254.x.x address
signifies a failure to communicate with the DHCP server. Check your
cabling, routing and DHCP server configuration to rectify such a
problem.

ok at least then i knew the 169.xx was a standard
but i was prettty sure my wiring was ok
basically dslmodem-linksysrouter- lanside
- 2desktops static ips working for years, fc5 and an imacg5.

But now the fc7 laptop also wired connecition, but trying to connect via dhcp
which was evidently my problem.

Maybe not surprising since I have been strictly static ip based up until now.
It has been years since i did any configure steps on the router
and i have probably misplaced any cd that came with it.
So i wasnt at all sure at how to go about trying to "wake up" my router
to dhcp requests

I finally found in carla schroder linux cookbook a complete example
for "setting up a dhcp server" which i used on the laptop,
altho i wasnt at all sure this would help me "wake up" my router to
dhcp requests.
 I put in following file

[root at r3-mobile etc]# cat dhcpd.conf

default-lease-time 259200;
max-lease-time 518400;

subnet 192.168.2.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
  option subnet-mask 255.255.255.0;
  option broadcast-address 192.168.2.255;
  option routers 192.168.2.1;
  range 192.168.2.90 192.168.2.150;
  option domain-name-servers 206.13.28.12 206.13.31.12;
}

(As an aside, I would  _never_  have figured out all of that syntax from
the various dhcp,dhclient ....   man pages)


and rebooted the laptop
I had to fuss a bit more:
in order for eth0 to get its new dhcp assigned ip, it
seemed to also require taking the ethernet cable out and back in.
But now the laptop is on the net with dhcp working, and surviving reboots.

Questions:
1)Is what i did overkill?  I think it means i made the laptop itself
the dhcp server.
Its working, but i would like some feedback from the list

2) what steps would i need to instead try to kick the router into
doing the dhcp?
Several months ago my vendor had me jumping thru hoops using dhclient
and some combo, including taking cable out/back in,
eventually got the wired eth0 working.
But then family health problemsetc intervened and I just abandoned the laptop
until now.
Any hints re use of dhclient?

3) any one else needing to take ethernet cables out and then back in to
make connections come alive?

any/all comments appreciated
Jack