On Thu, 30 Mar 2000, Michael Renzmann wrote:
> > > The problem I have is the following: one of our customers has two
> > > 10/100 MBit VG/Anylan-NICs in his Network. Now he has to change
> > > these NICs because lacking drivers for this cards. [...]
> > The feature might also come in handy for another application:
> > High-availability solutions.
> > A backup server could pick up the primary�s IP address and also MAC
> > address to allow for a "seamless" handover of the clients which
> > otherwise would have to way until their ARP cache expired.
>
> So, actually there are some reasons for changing the MAC. The only thing
> that is lacking is a tool to do so... no hints about that, apart from
> "you don�t want to do that" without explanation (sorry, Donald, I may
> be a novice to that issue, but some explaining words would be much
> better than just telling me what I want and what I don�t want to do).
No, you again missed the point.
But your misunderstanding very clearly illustrates my point.
The topic is "changing the MAC address on the NIC".
You don't change the permanent MAC on the NIC for high availability.
If I had given the URL to the programs that change the NIC's stored MAC
address, a bunch of people would have **PERMANENTLY** changed their NIC's
station address, without even knowing that they had subtly broken their
hardware for all time.
...If they don't understand the difference between candles and sticks of
dynamite, don't write out detailed instructions on how to use matches. Tell
them they should be looking for a flashlight.
Donald Becker
Scyld Computing Corporation, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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