Setup of VT2442 to Operate as a Switch

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: Mar 27, 2007 Posts: 3

So I tried to set the VT2442 to a Static Address last night. I don't think it liked it.

After setting the address, I lost connection. So I cut the power to the VT2442 and restarted it. I was able to get back connected to the box, but when I went in to check that the static address was set, the VT2442 reverted back to DHCP....??? However, the LAN settings were still how I set them.

I remember seeing a posting or two about the VT2442 losing settings when the power was lost, so I will have to research this more to find out why.

Posts: 2257 · Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 11:01 am Post subject:

Several little tricks with Fixed IP addresses.

1. Be sure that your fixed IP address is:

a. Within the subnet range of your netowrk, and
b. Outside the DHCP assignment range of your DHCP server.

Or, in plain English, be sure your IP address has the same three starting numbers as your LAN (usually 192.168.1.x) but that the last number is not one your regular router will give out as a normally-assigned address.

Example:

Router is set to 192.168.1.x, subnet mask 255.255.255.0. Router's actual address is 192.168.1.1.
Router's DHCP server is set to give out addresses starting at 192.168.1.2, assigning up to 100 addresses.

In this example, you'd want to set the fixed IP address as something starting in 192.168.1.x, but *NOT* in the 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.102 range. 192.168.1.200 would be a good choice, for example.

2. If you have the choice, consider using Static DHCP instead of Fixed IP. This is a function of your router, and allows you to tell your router to always assign a specific IP address to a device based on the MAC address of that device (see rule #1 for assignment of the actual IP address - it still applies.

You might use this because some devices have trouble with fixed IP addresses.

3. Be sure not to assign duplicate IP addresses on your network. Rule #1 will keep your router from assigning duplicates of the addresses you assign manually, just be sure you don't try to assign two fixed IP addresses to the same device. Unpredictable Results May Occur.

And, finally, not technically related to Fixed IP, but...

Be sure your Vonage router has "MAC Address Cloning" turned OFF if you move it behind another router. A very common "trick" that people use is to have the Vonage device clone the MAC address of their old computer, so they don't have to provision a new MAC address with their ISP.

If you move the Vonage device behind another router, and you leave this MAC address cloning on, you now have two devices on your network with the same MAC address - your Vonage device and whatever computer its MAC was originally cloned from. This can cause major confusion on your network.