Static IP address assignments [WAS Re: NIC Settings for IBM Thinkpad T30 / wired & wireless]

[Bruce Marshall]

On Tuesday 30 October 2007, Derek Broughton wrote:
> > And why do that when you only have a few machines instead of just
> > assigning static IP's to them? that's just added work.
>
> Where is the added work?  If you do it in your router's web interface, you
> have one page to edit.  If you do it on every computer on the lan - even if
> there are only two, you have to do it in two places.  If, like my lan,
> every one of those computers dual boots Windows & Linux, you have to do it
> in two places on every machine.
>
> >   Further, if I build VPN's into my remote networks, static IP's on the
> > lan side are critical -
>
> No, _fixed_ IPs are critical - but as long as the DHCP server can fix them,
> there's no reason they shouldn't be dynamic.

I'm with NoOp on this one.     I have a lot of devices that sit for years with 
their assigned IP addresses.   Webcams and printers for example.

I think it's a heck of a lot easier to give every device a fixed IP address 
when it is 'born' (and I can remember a lot of addresses)  rather than diddle 
with routers.

I have several routers and a linux machine that acts as a router (only one at 
a time though) and I might switch out a router for another at any time.  It's 
a no brainer to do that if you don't have to worry about diddling with fixed 
IP addresses on the router.