Question Assigning IPv4 addresses to my servers

[jamesdsimone]

I have a XigmaNAS server that has been running with no problems for a year or so. The IPv4 address is 192.168.1.1. I built another XigmaNAS server and for some reason it didn't assign it an IPv4 address. So I just put on the same one. Everything was up and running fine. I copied 200+ Gb of data to the new server and shut down. The next day I restarted and I couldn't connect to the new server. Windows gave me a "network path not found" error. The WebGUI showed everything online. I enabled SMD and remounted the drives and rebooted several times and still couldn't connect. Today I rebooted the server and can connect to the drives just fine. Could the IPv4 address be the issue? Can I use any address not being used by another device? XigmaNAS reported the IPv4 as the same as the WebGUi address. My other XigmaNAS server I would have to check what the IPv4 address is reported. It automatically assigned 192.168.1.1

 

[Tech Junky]

Adjust your DHCP scope to exclude a few addresses for static assignments and then make the servers static.

 

[In2Photos]

Agreed. Set up any static IPs outside of the DHCP range. Mine is set to assign 1-100. My server is 125.

 

[Tech Junky]

Agreed. Set up any static IPs outside of the DHCP range. Mine is set to assign 1-100. My server is 125.

I exclude up to 100 and limit it to only the # of devices that need an IP to prevent anything else from connecting.

Statics on my servers / laptop / phone / AP

There's no reason to allocate 100 IP's to be served if you don't have 100 devices.

 

[In2Photos]

I exclude up to 100 and limit it to only the # of devices that need an IP to prevent anything else from connecting.

Statics on my servers / laptop / phone / AP

There's no reason to allocate 100 IP's to be served if you don't have 100 devices.

You'd be surprised how fast you fill 100 available slots when you have smart home devices. 😉

 

[Tech Junky]

You'd be surprised how fast you fill 100 available slots when you have smart home devices. 😉

And that's why a you take a count of devices to allocate to.

 

[jamesdsimone]

I'm comparing my settings. When I configured the first server I let the install do everything and since it was working I never really checked it. The first server is using DHCP with the IP address 192.168.1.240 which is the address of the WebGUI. Gateway is set to 192.168.1.1. The IPv4 DNS Servers is listed as 192.168.1.1.

The new server is set to static. IP address 192.168.1.250 same as the WebGUI.
No gateway is listed. Do I need one? IPv4 DNS Servers is listed as 192.168.1.1.

My network has 4 NAS servers, 2 Xigmanas servers, an old Dlink sharecenter, and a Synology DS413j. There are 2 Windows 7 laptops(one IP address is 192.168.1.178), a Windows 10 laptop, a WinXP/Ubuntu desktop, a Windows7/XP desktop(IP address is 192.168.1.161) and when I finally get it running a Windows7/Mint desktop. Not all the computers are on at the same time. I don't know if the IP addresses are DHCP or static except for the XigmaNAS servers. I can look at that later.

So I want to change both XigmaNAS servers to static. My computer knowledge is rudimentary at best so please try to say things so I can understand.
Does the static one need a gateway? And is 192.168.1.1 ok to use? And to change the DHCP server to static should I use the same settings with the 192.168.1.240 IP address.

 

[Tech Junky]

No gateway is listed. Do I need one?

If you want it to work you do. I would set everything to DHCP and then figure out what you want static and make a list of hosts and their IP assignments so you don't create a conflict.

Each device needs a unique IP or you will have issues. 192.168.1.x is your subnet. 192.168.1.1 is your gateway and 255.255.255.0 is your subnet mask. If you have say 15 devices you want to make static you need to change your DHCP server to exclude at least that many IPs.

I would put servers in one group say ending with x.100 NAS devices in x.110 PCs in x.120 and so on to group them logically so you remember the assignments if you need to get to them.

 

[In2Photos]

I'm comparing my settings. When I configured the first server I let the install do everything and since it was working I never really checked it. The first server is using DHCP with the IP address 192.168.1.240 which is the address of the WebGUI. Gateway is set to 192.168.1.1. The IPv4 DNS Servers is listed as 192.168.1.1.

The new server is set to static. IP address 192.168.1.250 same as the WebGUI.
No gateway is listed. Do I need one? IPv4 DNS Servers is listed as 192.168.1.1.

My network has 4 NAS servers, 2 Xigmanas servers, an old Dlink sharecenter, and a Synology DS413j. There are 2 Windows 7 laptops(one IP address is 192.168.1.178), a Windows 10 laptop, a WinXP/Ubuntu desktop, a Windows7/XP desktop(IP address is 192.168.1.161) and when I finally get it running a Windows7/Mint desktop. Not all the computers are on at the same time. I don't know if the IP addresses are DHCP or static except for the XigmaNAS servers. I can look at that later.

So I want to change both XigmaNAS servers to static. My computer knowledge is rudimentary at best so please try to say things so I can understand.
Does the static one need a gateway? And is 192.168.1.1 ok to use? And to change the DHCP server to static should I use the same settings with the 192.168.1.240 IP address.

The gateway allows your devices to go outside of the LAN (local area network). If the servers do not need access to anything outside of the LAN you do not need to provide the gateway address. The gateway address would be that of your router.

So you could setup your router's DHCP server to provide addresses to devices that do not have a static IP (i.e. laptops and other servers). I prefer to have static IPs for devices that I will access from other devices (so a server, printers, etc.). All other devices use DHCP. In your case it looks like you have 10 or so devices that need DHCP. So in the router you would set it up to provide addresses from let's say 192.168.1.100-.110. Your static IPs are outside of this range so there is no chance of a conflict with the ones in the DHCP range.

It's also a good idea to keep a record of what static IP you assign to a device.

 

[Fallen Kell]

You'd be surprised how fast you fill 100 available slots when you have smart home devices. 😉

That is why I left a 1024 range in subnets between my IoT VLAN and my other VLANs so that I wouldn't run into any issues with possibly using the same subnet across multiple VLANs so as to keep the intra-VLAN routing easier.