On 04/08/10 11:44, (Ted Harding) wrote:
I recall, in the past, having done this sort of setup, but in a way which depends on configuring the DHCP server to *not* hand out IP addresses in a certain range. Addresses in this range can then be used as fixed IP addresses for machines that want them (these having already been configured to use fixed IP and not request dynamic IP from the DHCP server).
To an extent this is what I'm doing, although with static leases on the DHCP server to keep addresses static rather than hard coding them.
To give a specific example: My desktop was 10.0.0.117 (static DHCP lease), however we're moving to a 192.168.250.x subnet, so the DHCP server has been updated with the new settings and my PC has automatically got its new IP address (192.168.250.117) which will "never" change. All the DNS settings were updated automatically too, via DHCP. For this reason, DHCP has its uses even when you don't want your IP to change.
However, it also had a host of other IP addresses for talking to other kit that has nothing to do with the office network. For example, my company works in stadium lighting control, communicating via TCP/IP modules which tend to be shipped (new) with a known default IP address and a web interface to change their settings. Being able to give my PC a static IP on the same subnet means when I have to configure one of these devices, I don't have to reconfigure my IP address.
The PC I am configuring is the new PC I built recently (not a laptop, to answer Adam's question, although the same issues apply on a laptop), so it's a fresh install and I'm trying to get things "right", replacing my old PC which had Ubuntu 5.10 upgraded version by version over the past few years and was still working probably more by luck than judgement (it was only replaced because I really needed more RAM and a bigger hard disk, and there comes a point where it's better to invest the money in a new PC than upgrades). The old PC was static IP only and had about 12 of them, about 7-8 of which I'd want to retain for accessing various bits of hardware that come with different default IP addresses.
Increasingly I also need access to PPTP VPN's (to client sites) and it would make my life a lot easier if I could use NM to manage those, even if I take control of eth0 away from it.