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Is it better to use a dhcp server to reserve addresses based on mac address or to assign them statically on the interfaces?

I have a small network and i want almost everything to have static ip addresses. Is there any benefit to doing it one way or the other?

CorinaLarksExtraMild
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2 Answers2

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There are some benefits of using a DHCP server:

  1. You have a central point where you keep track of the addresses that you use. Less risk of using an address twice.
  2. If you need to change the addresses for some reason then you change them in the DHCP server.
  3. A DHCP server not only hands out IP addresses but also the domain-name, subnet-mask, broadcast-address, routers, domain-name-servers, ntp-servers and other things. No risk that you misconfigure an interface.
  4. You say that almost all have a static address. DHCP hands out IP address to those in the range that you define in the DHCP server.
Marco
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  • Thanks this is also what I am thinking, just feels strange to have a server that wont be doing much serving (after the first leases) i guess. – CorinaLarksExtraMild Jan 22 '21 at 21:58
  • Might be true but you will know its value when you need to make some modifications one day or when you decide that your network becomes too big or has too many changes to stick to fixed IP addresses for almost all interfaces. – Marco Jan 22 '21 at 22:09
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Administrative wise it is normally recommend to use DHCP reservations.

The one big benefit of setting a static IP address directly on the device is when you need the device to be accessible in the case of a DHCP server outage. Like for example, any network monitoring device or devices that can be useful for troubleshooting like an IP KVM, etc. In these cases it is still a good idea to create a reservation for tracking purposes and in case you need to factory reset the device it will come back with the expected IP.

MrLumute
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