IP Address Question For Small Network

[Lotus 0]

We are running a small 6 Workstation network here at work, and I was wondering if it's better to let the DHCP server assign IP address' or is it better to assign them manually? Whats better for long term performance and reliability?

[clutch 1]

Whenever possible, I use DHCP. Not only is it good for reusing IPs, but you can change the other IP-related values (DNS, gateway, router, MTU, etc) at one location rather than going to each machine or finding/building an application to do that for you.

[ViperZ2000 0]

Agreed 100%. One central location for all

[Catdog02 0]

I would agree for a large network, but if you're only setting up six machines, why burden the server with the DHCP service? admittedly DHCP Server doesn't do much to affect peformance, but it does count. Also thinking about the administration, if you plan to setup ICS etc, then your not going to be using true DHCP anyway. Of course if your machines are 2000 boxes, you may consider using APIPA, set the TCP options to use an automatic IP addressing, and leave the DHCP service off the server, the machines will allocate themselves IP's.

[clutch 1]

Why do it? Because in a professional setting there is a strong possibility of adding more workstations (permanently or otherwise) and having a central location to hand out the right information is a much better option. This is especially true if there is no IT person around when a visiting person comes in and needs to hook up his/her laptop to the network, and nobody knows what to set and how to set it. Also, if there is a need for some sort of proxy service, just use RRAS on a Win2K box, or one of the freebie/low-cost proxy alternatives as they can offer a lot more control than ICS was designed to.

[Davros 0]

Gotta agree with Clutch here. There is no reason to set yourself up for the headache of reconfiguring every single workstation and server on the network.

[Catdog02 0]

Quote:

Why do it? Because in a professional setting there is a strong possibility of adding more workstations (permanently or otherwise) and having a central location to hand out the right information is a much better option. This is especially true if there is no IT person around when a visiting person comes in and needs to hook up his/her laptop to the network, and nobody knows what to set and how to set it. Also, if there is a need for some sort of proxy service, just use RRAS on a Win2K box, or one of the freebie/low-cost proxy alternatives as they can offer a lot more control than ICS was designed to.

Yeah, sorry guys my mistake, I neglected to read properly and missed the word "work" in the post.

My bad.