LAN IP Address question....

[flippinfleck]

Now I know that these are valid and safe(for the future):
192.168.x.x
172.16.x.x
10.x.x.x

Are there any others that may be used? Win98SE gives my Nic a default of 169.254.x.x Is this something I should change? They say curiosity killed the cat, but mine aint dead yet!

 

[Damaged]

Those are valid internal IPs as defined by RFC 1918.

The 169.207.xxx.xxx is what you get assigned when you can't get an IP from a DHCP server.

 

[ktwebb]

The 169.254.X.X is a number assigned at the manufacturer. No idea why they do it. I kinda stumbled on this years ago when I was installing a bunch of wireless cards and kept getting IP conflicts when none had been assigned and no DHCP server was online. I Cisco guy confirmed this at a class I went to for the CCNA test. It is not valid nor should it let you ping/tracert etc... with it. Not sure what purpose it serves but you shouldn't worry about it. Give your NIC a valid IP, either private, or public if you have one to assign it.

 

[flippinfleck]

Ok, so basically from what has been said so far I shouldn't be able to have a network with a 169.254.x.x range? The only reason I question this is becuase right now I am using winamp to play some of the Mp3's on my second computer... No lag, no crashing. I also frag w/a friend on a regular basis w/out any problems. When I first noticed what I was getting for an auto IP, I assigned both comps the same IP (+1 on the second of course). Could problems develop later on down the road because of this IP? I am going to assign them both one of the valid IP's, but my curiosity is bubbling over here. One thing I did notice is that I cannot run MS Works accross the Lan. Is that just a normal thing for Works? Any ideas on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so far. After all, knowing is half the battle.

 

[ktwebb]

Are you running another protocol? If not, then the 169 network ID must be working. In other words, if you are using IP only across your network, then an IP must be used to commnunicate. What I said earlier still holds some truth to it, but maybe the NIC manufacturer has hardcoded that Ip in there somehow. Beats me.

 

[H.A.R.M]

Things may be working because you are using another PROTOCOL to communicate over your home LAN. Go to your networking control panel and seek a peek at what has been configured. Other possbile protocols that may be in use are IPX, NetBEUI or some other protocol you may of loaded. You should really assign a IP number using a valid range that is not routeable througt a router (well, technicaly that is the right answer) like 192.168.x.x using a 255.255.255.0 subnet. This would help you prepare for the future if your going to link up using DSL or a cable modem.

 

[flippinfleck]

Actually, I have DSL allready. I have two computers, both have a Lynksis NIC. Both use TCP/IP and Netbui for the network. The main computer uses only TCP/IP for the DSL Modem (internal). It is not bound to the file and printer sharing like the nics, nor is it bound to the Client for MS Networks. I did quite a bit of reading when I got my DSL, only cuz I wanted to be safe. Thats why I'm still a Junior Member...I read more than I post. So far the network is kickin, and DSL hasn't been a problem yet(Other than w/Verizon, but thats a whole nother story). In about a week, I will be getting the External Westel Modem w/Nic and I think that the setup I have now will be pretty safe. I don't plan on using the second computer for net access so I am not interested in connection sharing. Is there something else I should know about the way its set up? Both nics are bound to file/print sharing and MS Networks. I do not have the windows family logon installed. Let me know what you think.

 

[H.A.R.M]

Ah, your in trouble...well, not much. First, you DO NOT "bind" protocols to services, you bind protocols to network interface cards which means you have both TCP/IP and NetBEUI "binded" to all your NICs . Rememeber, you need to run the same protocols on both workstations in order to have them communicate. Protocols are like "lanuages" that can talk over a network. And it is possbile to have more than one protcol work on a network. So if your running NetBEUI (I'ld remove this) on your Main workstation and TCP/IP and NetBEUI on your other workstation, where is the security?

So why do you need NetBEUI at all? We are using IPX and TCP/IP here in our labs at school and we have WIN98 File & Print Sharing setup without any issues.

Hope this helps.

 

[ktwebb]

I would recommend sticking with NetBeui if you want a secure, quick protocol for your LAN traffic. Quickest of the three that you can use and non-routable. NetBEUI for file sharing and IP for internet traffic. Lowest overhead as well. To each his own, and IPX would work for you, just not as well.

 

[Spearfodder]

Netbui is also non-routable. That's fine for a local network, though a lot of games still require tcp/ip. At least the new ones do.

It's been posted already, but that 169.x.x.x addy you're getting is generated by the dhcp client portion of the tcp/ip stack. I'd recommend getting off of it to save future headaches. In a private, internal network you're generally advised to use one of the 3 private subnets, the 10.x, 172 or best yet (the ones I use and so do a lot of other people) 192.168.x.x.

Running a small network with a half dozen or so computers, 'overhead' really isn't much of a factor. For compatibility, I run netbui, tcp/ip, and ipx/spx (in that binding order) on my local network. Everythings works, and works fine.

 

[ktwebb]

Correct. Overhead is not an issue on a small LAN. Never the less, you dont need three protocols, so why use it. Compatibility? Nah. Whatever works for you though.

 

[H.A.R.M]

NetBEUI has low overhead???? Ah, NetBEUI is one of the more NOISY protocols you can use...download a packet sniffer and SEE what is happening when you are using NetBEUI. As I stated before, why use NetBEUI anyways, you can't use it for gamming (ever see a option for NetBEUI in network games guys??? And as for security, read my previous post, if you are using NetBEUI because it is a non-routable protocol true, but it needs to be IMPLEMENTED in the right way. What I mean is that if you only want internet access on the workstation that is connected to your Cable/DSL modem and your second workstation only to have print & file sharing capability then this is the config you would want:

Main Workstation (connected to DSL/Cable Modem)
TCP/IP
NetBEUI
Windows File & Print Sharing Service Added

Second Workstation
NetBEUI ONLY
Windows File & Print Sharing Service Added

This would make the second workstation secure from the internet because "hackers" would really need to go through alot of work to get to this workstation because it only has NetBEUI bound to it (what hacker is going to do anything anyways unless you've ticked someone off). This workstation would have no internet access because no TCP/IP has been bound to it (the internet works off IP). So if you do have TCP/IP loaded on the second workstation (as I'm sure most of you do)then where is your security?

Hope this offers some insight into the subject

 

[flippinfleck]

I'm sure there is WAAAY more to learn, but I just wanted to take this time to thank you all for helpin me out here. I've changed the IP's on both computers to 172.16.x.x without a problem. Alas, I have one question buggin my brain. If the DSL modem is bound only to the TCP/IP protocol, and the TCP/IP protocol for that modem is neither bound to File/Printer Sharing nor to Client for MS Networks, does that mean that it cannot be used to gain entry to the network? I have both of the Nics bound to TCP/IP and NETBUI. Those protocols are both in turn bound to File/Printer Sharing AND Client for MS Networks. Is it safe to leave it that way? I've had people (friends of course) try to ping my IP (for both computer's Nics and the DSL modem) to no avail. I have ZoneAlarm running and the internet security level is set at HIGH. I guess my question here is, did I do anything major wrong? The network runs splendidly, as does my DSL connection. You've all helped a great deal so far, thank you.

>edit I also have ZoneAlarm running on the second computer, just in case. edit<

 

[ktwebb]

NetBEUI is chatty, but also is self tuning and broadcasts become less and less of an issue. I use a sniffer quite a bit. I like NetBEUI for a small LAN, but opinions vary I guess.