On Sat, 2003-06-14 at 22:24, L.V.Gandhi wrote: > On Saturday 14 Jun 2003 12:16 pm, Ronald J. Hall wrote: > > > DId you logon to your router and adjust things there? I've got a Dlink > > router and it let me assign the range of IP addresses to be used for my 3 > > comp LAN. I'm using DHCP here and it works fine. > > What are the advantages of using dhcp for such small network of three > computers. Kindly explain. I have fixed ips for my LAN of 5 PCs.
Some advantages: 1) Great for anyone who periodically inserts temporary clients into their network. (i.e.: service techs, fast-moving families with teenage kids..) 2) Large networks where manually adding entries to all the 'hosts'/'lmhosts' files would be a PITA, especially if clients are transient and variable. 3) Once setup properly, it does make the process pretty mindless on the admin's part. No fuss, no muss. 4) With a router/gateway DHCP server, simple to setup. K.I.S.S. principal, at its best. Some disadvantages: 1) Slight loss of control in assigning devices. Not all networked devices appreciate or can accept DHCP assignment, causing you to interject static addressing and 'hosts'/'lmhosts' usage into the network, anyway. 2) Relying on the DHCP server (which can be a router/gateway device) to manage not only the IP addresses, but in most cases DNS) can be noticeably slower in resolving names. 3) DHCP sometimes gets 'stuck' and will cause IP conflicts. Depends on the device providing DHCP as to whether this happens often or at all. I've had problems both in software and hardware driven DHCP servers. 4) Your client is SOOL if the DHCP server goes down. No IP, no network. With static assigning, as long as two devices work, you have a working network. 5) Can be tricky to setup properly. Mistakes made do not always readily show themselves, making troubleshooting a pain at times, especially if other servers/services are relying upon its accuracy to achieve their programming goals for the network. I could go on, probably, and others could add or argue for/against based on their own experiences. For me, I like things to stay put. Static does that. I prefer DHCP because I don't want to have to bother with it. Right now, my network is setup for static because it seems to be fool- proof and I don't have any more than a dozen clients/devices that need to be IP addressed. Any temp systems added are manually addressed outside the tight range of my permanent network. I don't have conflicts. And when I need to step back and think about where everything is in my setup...even my feeble mind can remember the IP address of anything on the network. :0) HTH T
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