Static IP workaround

[sxolism]

Hi,

I was advised by Mac Server support yesterday to make sure, before installing the server, that my router ip address is static and to have the ability to provide a working DNS record of my machine. He quickly mentioned this as though he wasn't supposed to give that information out. I learned that Comcast doesn't want me to have a static ip for my server and small network of 4 machines, at least not on a basic cable account.

So, my question is how to properly set up my Airport Extreme base station properly so that it has these properties of static ip and DNS record.

Brian

[Kees Buijs]

Originally Posted by sxolism

Hi,

So, my question is how to properly set up my Airport Extreme base station properly so that it has these properties of static ip and DNS record.

Brian

There are a couple of ways to do that.

One is to link the MAC address to an IP-number. This tells the router to provide the same ip-number to that MAC address which is the equivalent of a static address.

What i use myself is a real static address by picking an ip-number outside the range distributed by the router. So if the router makes numbers like 192.168.1.100 to 199, pick e.g. 192.168.1.240. This is a valid address with the correct setup (for a netmask of 255.255.255.0).

The DNS address to fill in in the server is the ip-number of the router. All trafic for the server should be relayed to the server by forwarding it to 192.168.1.240.


Your provider will not be concerned with static ip-numbers behind the router, but will be with numbers BEFORE the router. They do not always provide a static number and you should use someting like dyndns to find your ip-number when surfing the net.


Good luck, Kees

[Go3iverson]

You have two different things. Keeping internal IPs and DNS is up to you, as Kees said. If you want to keep a persistent IP and DNS record outside for Web access or Email access, you can sign up with DynDNS.com and install a dynamic DNS updater. This will keep a public DNS record up to date with the dynamic IP provided from Comcast. For example, you purchase example.com and want www.example.com to reach your web server. You get a hostname from DynDNS.com, such as example.gotdns.com. You point your www.example.com on an external DNS server, such as one provided from your registrar to example.gotdns.com, which is dynamically updated with your IP info.

For Servers, you should always have a static IP internally. You don't want those IPs changing on you as it can cause instability in numerous services on the server, including really disrupt the way Open Directory works.

Michael