Hi Adam,
I apologize for the delay in my response. I’d try with something simpler first like setting up the static address. Why don’t you try with this sketch http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/WebClient, I have not tried it but I think it might work and it is a good point where to start. Regarding the Linux way, you can set it up with ifconfig command, here are a list of command examples http://www.tecmint.com/ifconfig-command-examples/. Let me know if you still need help.
Regards,
JPMontero_Intel