telnet problem

[dmoylan at ibm.net (dan moylan)]

-------------- next part --------------
to:     discuss
from:   dan moylan
ref:    dsc0222.out
subj:   telnet

i have two machines running redhat linux (deneb, RH5.2, canopus, RH5.0),
operating on thin net.  my problem is that canopus can telnet to deneb,
but not vice versa (connection refused).  deneb can telnet to itself,
but canopus cannot telnet to itself.

	- the /etc/hosts files are identical in both machines, and contain
       the ip addressses, names and aliases of localhost, deneb, & canopus
	- the /etc/hosts.allow and deny files are empty in both machines,
       although putting names in the allow file didn't help
	- xhost + was run in each machine
	- ifconfig produces identical messages in each machine, except for
	  the differences in the ip addresses
	- netstat -r produces identical messages in each machine
	- each machine can ping itself and the other ok
	- each machine can rcp to the other

one hates to expose one's ignorance, but what basic setup have i overlooked?