Some advice, please, on proper setup of static IPs
Hello friends, I have returned to my favorite forum for some good advice about static IPs on my network.
I've done some studying and some tests and I understand how to set static IP on my NASs (plural) and machines.
I'm just trying to be real careful so I want to post here and ask questions. I will try to make them intelligent as possible.
To begin: I know that I should set my static IPs to be outside the range of the DHCP in my router. I actually tried that with my old NAS as an experiment. I set it to be outside that range, like 192.168.1.60. The NAS adopted it and the status panel confirmed this. Here's what happened: my router won't let me set that static IP because the old IP is still in the DHCP list.
Do I need to turn off/on the router to clear out that list? Is that the next step? This sounds like a dumb question to me but I'm trying to be *real* careful.
As always, any and all advice is very welcome.
best
Ken
Model: ReadyNAS RNDP6000|ReadyNAS Pro 6 Chassis only
Re: Some advice, please, on proper setup of static IPs
You didn't mention what brand of router you have, but you generally cannot set a reserved address on one outside the DHCP range. And there is no reason to, anyway. The reason for setting one outside that range is only if you have no option of setting the address reservation in the router. Then, doing so keeps the router from assigning another device the same address.
Since you can set a reserved address in the router, you don't want to also do so in the NAS. That way, if you change routers and the default range is different from your current one, your NAS will pick up a DHCP address from the new router until you have a chance to reserve a new one in the new router. It won't be uinvisible because it's on a dofferent sub-net.
In my Netgear router, I just have to go in, select the device to get the reserved address, manually change the assigned address to the one I want, and save it (assuming I don't like what was assigned). The router resets when it saves the data, and a power cycle on the NAS causes it to pick up the new address.
Re: Some advice, please, on proper setup of static IPs
wrote:
Since you can set a reserved address in the router, you don't want to also do so in the NAS. That way, if you change routers and the default range is different from your current one, your NAS will pick up a DHCP address from the new router until you have a chance to reserve a new one in the new router. It won't be uinvisible because it's on a different sub-net.
I fully agree. Reserving the IP address in the router and using DHCP in the NAS is the best approach here. It ensures connectivity when you change routers (as @Sandshark says). Plus managing the addresses in one place ensures that you won't accidently assign the same IP address to two devices - which will create problems and is sometimes hard to troubleshoot.
Plus (also as @Sandshark says) the reserved address comes from the DHCP address pool, not outside it. Going outside the DHCP pool is the best approach when assigning a static address in the NAS configuration - but isn't done when reserving an address in the router.
wrote:
In my Netgear router, I just have to go in, select the device to get the reserved address, manually change the assigned address to the one I want, and save it (assuming I don't like what was assigned). The router resets when it saves the data, and a power cycle on the NAS causes it to pick up the new address.
I do the same.
Reserving the different address is simple with a Netgear router.
Getting the new address actually applied can be be a bit tricker, especially if the NAS is connected through a switch. In some cases I've needed to shutdown the NAS, reboot the router, and then power up the NAS. That always works, no matter what router model you have.
Full disclosure: my router is not Netgear. That being said, if I can't reserve an IP as you describe, this will be changing. I need a setup that is rock solid so I don't have to worry about it, ever.
I will study up on whether I can reserve an IP on this router.
Re: getting the new address actually applied if it's going through a switch: both my NASs are connected to one switch that is connected to another switch in the next room, and then through a nearby switch to the router. So: both NASs go through 3 switches (Netgear) and then to the router.
I mention all this because StephenB had mentioned it might get trickier. I'm off to see if I can reserve an IP. Thanks very much!!!
best
Ken
Model: ReadyNAS RNDP6000|ReadyNAS Pro 6 Chassis only
..and so I tried it. I've got the entry in the Static DHCP Table. It also shows up in the DHCP Client Table above. So it's in both places. I just added the IP the NAS already had to the Static DHCP Table. Did I do it right?
many thanks
Ken
Model: ReadyNAS RNDP6000|ReadyNAS Pro 6 Chassis only
Re: Some advice, please, on proper setup of static IPs
wrote:
I've got the entry in the Static DHCP Table. It also shows up in the DHCP Client Table above. So it's in both places. I just added the IP the NAS already had to the Static DHCP Table. Did I do it right?
Yes! Their "static DHCP IP" is the same as Netgear's "Reserved IP address". Now your NAS should always be assigned the same IP address.
Re: Some advice, please, on proper setup of static IPs
Excellent! Thank you StephenB, great results so far. Now please, for my education, I would like to ask/verify:
1. One thing I do when I lose internet, or have massive network problems in general, is this: I power everything down, and start it up from bottom up. Cable modem, router, first set of switches, second set of switches, NASs, license server/render manager, then all the machines. If I have to do this, will these IPs be saved?
2. Can I assume then, this works for every machine/printer I have? So I don't have to worry about it again?
Thank you so much!
best
Ken
Model: ReadyNAS RNDP6000|ReadyNAS Pro 6 Chassis only
Re: Some advice, please, on proper setup of static IPs
Well, I went ahead and did both NASs, 1 printer and 6 machines. It seems kinda strange that the Static DHCP IP Table limits the number you can reserve. But everything seems happy so far. Thanks very much!
best
Ken
Model: ReadyNAS RNDP6000|ReadyNAS Pro 6 Chassis only
Re: Some advice, please, on proper setup of static IPs
wrote:
1. One thing I do when I lose internet, or have massive network problems in general, is this: I power everything down, and start it up from bottom up. Cable modem, router, first set of switches, second set of switches, NASs, license server/render manager, then all the machines. If I have to do this, will these IPs be saved?
In most cases you won't need to reboot the entire network. If you do, then it's best to start with the infrastructure (modem, router, and switches), and then turn on the clients. It's reasonable to turn on servers first, but it likely doesn't matter in practice.
Your "DHCP static IP addresses" should be preserved even if you don't reboot the entire network. You should document them somewhere - if you ever need to factory reset the router, you'll need to re-enter them.
wrote:
2. Can I assume then, this works for every machine/printer I have?
Yes. You won't have to do anything special unless you factory reset the router (or switch to a new one).
Re: Some advice, please, on proper setup of static IPs
Very cool, StephenB. I've got them documented in a spreadsheet and I feel like I have learned what I needed to learn about reserving and Static DHCP IPs.
Just for extra knowledge, if I may, what happens if I have more machines that I would like to reserve IPs for? I seem to have run up against a limit on my router. Are there other, more complicated/less desirable methods? Very curious here.
Again, thanks very much for the shared information. Best Forum Around.
best,
Ken
Model: ReadyNAS RNDP6000|ReadyNAS Pro 6 Chassis only
Re: Some advice, please, on proper setup of static IPs
wrote:
Just for extra knowledge, if I may, what happens if I have more machines that I would like to reserve IPs for? I seem to have run up against a limit on my router. Are there other, more complicated/less desirable methods? Very curious here.
It's probably best to live within the limits of your router on this.
So if you want to assign a static address w/o using the DHCP static table, you
set the ending IP address to a smaller value than .254 That gives you the range of addresses that the router will never assign.
assign addresses in that address range manually in your devices.
You'll also need to manually enter the gateway address (your router's LAN address), and the subnet mask (usually 255.255.255.0 on a home network).
And you'll need to assign a DNS server. With most home routers you can assign the router LAN address (since the most routers act as DNS proxies).
You need to be careful not to use the same address twice, and if you make mistakes in the gateway, subnet mask, or DNS server you generally won't be able to access the internet. FWIW, you'd configure this info on an OS-6 ReadyNAS by going to the network page and then clicking on the settings wheel of the ethernet adapter. Then look on the IPv4 page.
Re: Some advice, please, on proper setup of static IPs
Thanks StephenB, great info and good advice. I'm sure I will live with the limits of this router because it's all working great now so there's no need to mess with it. I can't understand the limit imposed there on the number of Static DHCP IPs in the table; I'll have to look into that. I'm adding some machines to my farm this year, so I'll be wanting to have everybody with a reserved IP. If I run up against that limit I'll be thinking of upgrading my router. Please feel free to make a recommendation for a router that would suit my needs and as always Thank You!!
best
Ken
Model: ReadyNAS RNDP6000|ReadyNAS Pro 6 Chassis only
Re: Some advice, please, on proper setup of static IPs
wrote:
Please feel free to make a recommendation for a router that would suit my needs
We'd probably need more information on the internet speed, wifi coverage area, and number of devices to give a good recomendation. There is a home router section in the forum that is very active.
That said, I have 32 devices with reserved addresses on my Orbi RBR40 setup. That's not the limit, I'm not sure what the limit is.
