Static IP addresses

[AlmaataKZ]

To change everything to static IPs, you don't really do anything on the routers

Although it might be easier, depending on the router. My router gives me the option to fix an IP address for a given device, so it's still using DHCP but will ALWAYS give out the same IP to the same device. That makes it a lot easier to manage, you only have look after one lot of settings (the ones on the router). Easier than manually setting every device.

sounds like a good option.

 

[professorhat]

Although it might be easier, depending on the router. My router gives me the option to fix an IP address for a given device, so it's still using DHCP but will ALWAYS give out the same IP to the same device. That makes it a lot easier to manage, you only have look after one lot of settings (the ones on the router). Easier than manually setting every device.

True, though I wasn't sure if the Virign box did reservations, so it was yet another "possibly it'll look like this" and I'd already had several of those in my mini-essay 🙂

Plus I wanted to stay clear of MAC addressing if it all possible... Ahh b****r...

 

[amcluesent]

Static IP is 99% time not a good idea, and usually is only a bodge for another network problem.

DHCP Reservations are the way to go

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

Static IP is 99% time not a good idea, and usually is only a bodge for another network problem.

DHCP Reservations are the way to go

Generally speaking I agree,but there are certain things which benefit from fixed- a NAS if you have one and definitely a wifi printer.

 

[nads]

What are the benefits? For NASs and wifi printers?

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

What are the benefits? For NASs and wifi printers?

In the case of wifi printers, my experience of multiple pcs/laptops in the house simply cannot handle a different ip address for the printer everytime it is switched off/on.The pc/laptop simply doesn't recognise it when the ip address changes.

As for the NAS, again I have found that my mapped drives on pcs do not work regularly when the ip address changes every time.(the NAS is not on all the time).Again,my experience only.Perhaps I should have added IMO on the previous post.

 

[nads]

What are the benefits? For NASs and wifi printers?

In the case of wifi printers, my experience of multiple pcs/laptops in the house simply cannot handle a different ip address for the printer everytime it is switched off/on.The pc/laptop simply doesn't recognise it when the ip address changes.

As for the NAS, again I have found that my mapped drives on pcs do not work regularly when the ip address changes every time.(the NAS is not on all the time).Again,my experience only.Perhaps I should have added IMO on the previous post.

this is what I thought. And it is also something that I had been thinking.

 

[professorhat]

Static IP is 99% time not a good idea, and usually is only a bodge for another network problem.

DHCP Reservations are the way to go

Generally speaking I agree,but there are certain things which benefit from fixed- a NAS if you have one and definitely a wifi printer.

A DHCP reservation gives you a fixed IP address, but does it through DHCP - essentially, it tells the DHCP server that a device with a certain MAC address (arrgh - done it again!) should always get the same IP address.

In the corporate world, static IPs are used for any shared resources (servers, printers etc. etc.) for the reason you outline - however, in the corporate world, you generally have paid IT professionals to set this all up and maintain it. You don't get this at home!

The advantage of DHCP reservations over static IPs at home is, you don't get into the issue whereby you could have a DHCP server giving out IP addresses that you've manually assigned as static IP addresses elsewhere, and, depending on how complicated your network gets, you don't need to manually look after things like DNS entries and all the other pains that come with this. So if you're not really sure what you're doing, they're a better bet to try and minimise the chances of issues. I would have thought for most home users though, all of this is mostly unnecessary and standard DHCP will work just fine.

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

The general advice on using fixed ips is to change the dynamic range from 2-255(or whatever the range is on the router) to say 2-240 and use the 15 spare for fixed ips to avoid conflict issues but yes you may need to identify the M ... address first to fix them.

If you have a router which allows fixing once the number is allocated (I think the LHC said his can do this) then switch all devices off, make the dynamic range 240-255 and switch on those you want fixed, fix them once on the network, and then change the range back to 2-239 and switch the other devices on-that way you avoid any M...ing.

 

[The_Lhc]

In the corporate world, static IPs...

...probably haven't been used for at least 15 years, the company I worked for 18 years ago switched over to DHCP reservations (using a Solaris master that I used to maintain, happy days!) way back then and we were generally years behind the times when it came to stuff like that. I'd be amazed if any business of even moderate size was fixing IPs at the client end still.

 

[hammill]

When a DHCP server allocates an IP address, it leases it to the client for a configurable period of time. My router DHCP server is configured for one day with a maximum of just under a week if required. I do not have any problem with multiple computers and a networked printer using the one day setting, but if you do, it may be the easiest thing to just increase this value to the maximum.

 

[The_Lhc]

If you have a router which allows fixing once the number is allocated (I think the LHC said his can do this) then switch all devices off, make the dynamic range 240-255 and switch on those you want fixed, fix them once on the network, and then change the range back to 2-239 and switch the other devices on-that way you avoid any M...ing.

It's pretty simple on my router (old Speedtouch), leaving everything as DHCP you go into the device list, which generally shows a name rather than an MAC address, so you should be able to easily identify everything, and there's an option for each device (either a right mouse click or drop down menu, I can't remember, been a while since I've needed to do it), to set or fix the IP address, it's that easy, I've never had to worry about MAC addresses or changing the range for DHCP allocations or anything like that.

 

[professorhat]

In the corporate world, static IPs...

...probably haven't been used for at least 15 years, the company I worked for 18 years ago switched over to DHCP reservations (using a Solaris master that I used to maintain, happy days!) way back then and we were generally years behind the times when it came to stuff like that. I'd be amazed if any business of even moderate size was fixing IPs at the client end still.

Not for clients no - I don't think we ever assigned static IPs for clients. But they're certainly used at our company for the likes of servers e.g. NAS devices and printers (as I noted in my post just after your quote ended!). I would be amazed if this was not the case at virtually all corporations above a certain size.

However, let's not dwell on what corporations do - my point was I would recommend using DHCP reservations for everything in the home (even for NAS devices and printers), just because it's easier.