Setting up a Static Interface in Debian

To configure a static IP in debian you must edit the file /etc/network/interfaces and modify the following section...

auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp

To this... assuming interface eth0 is what you want...

auto eth0
iface eth0 inet static
address 192.168.1.10
netmask 255.255.255.0
network 192.168.1.0
broadcast 192.168.1.255
gateway 192.168.1.1

Also edit your /etc/hosts and insert similar to
the following to configure the IP to your hostname...

192.168.1.10 hostname hostname.full.qual.domain