~ >The easiest thing for me is to have all my systems use DHCP, but have ~ >my DHCP server assign fixed IP addresses to each client (based upon ~ >the client ID / MAC address.) ~ ~ And you assign the 'client ID' and 'MAC address' from the DHCP server? ~ I don't think so. So you had to fire up each client system, figure ~ out where the magic information is hidden, copy it EXACTLY, and then ~ transfer this data to the DHCP server without typ0s (assuming you ~ also know where this information needs to go in the server config). ~ And of course your networks are physically isolated and secured so ~ that no one can be spoofing/setting their MAC address.
Exactly so, for the case at hand: i.e. my home network, which consists of 3 Macs, 1 PC, 1 iTouch, 1 AP, plus my work PC, all behind my router.
~ >That way I don't have to run around configuring all my end systems ~ ~ How often are you changing / re-configuring your systems? Other than ~ lap-tops, most people aren't playing musical computers and moving ~ things. It's a one-time deal, and it's done.
But nowadays (in home networks) it's ALL laptops. ~ >and also if I move a system from network to network, it picks up the ~ >right addresses automatically. And I have a central place (the DHCP ~ >server) that provides all the MAC-address mappings.
~ You have one DHCP server for all of your networks?
No, I have one DHCP server for my home network. Then when I move a laptop to some OTHER network, they have some OTHER DHCP server set up. So: if the laptop is configured for DHCP, it will automatically pick up a valid address. If I statically configure the laptop ... then I have to do something different when I move it to some other network.
~ Must have been ~ fun to set up - something the average home user isn't going to be ~ doing. Yes, if your computer is moving from network to network, ~ a DHCP client is probably the way to go, but unless you are using ~ a cryptographic signiture scheme, you may be a bit to trusting. My ~ laptops only move between three different networks, and they have ~ (selectable) fixed setups for each.
~ >Of course I cheat and use a Cisco IOS router as the DHCP server, but ~ >lots of other DHCP servers could do this too. ~ ~ As you work for Cisco, I'm sure the company expects that. As for the ~ other DHCP servers, most users have no knowledge of how to set them ~ up and are expecting that what-ever defaults were used are enough to ~ allow connections. That's why RFC3927 addresses are so necessary. ~ "The Internet must be b0rk3n - I can connect to the router OK."
The great majority of users ... should never need to know what a MAC or IP address is. In the thread at hand, it appears that the O.P. does care about the IP addresses in (what I infered to be) his home network. So I offered a suggestion for a good way to manage these things in such a scenario. Of course, other sitations may call for different measures.
~ Old guy
Probably Even Older Guy