[233] in Resnet-Forum
Re: Boot-P Servers
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Joel P. Cooper)
Wed Apr 13 13:30:39 1994
Date: Wed, 13 Apr 1994 12:05:52 -0500
To: resnet-forum@MIT.EDU
From: joel.p.cooper.1@nd.edu (Joel P. Cooper)
At 11:25 AM 4/13/94 -0500, Mike! wrote:
>>Penn has been using a locally-developed BOOTP server since last summer to
>>assign IP addresses in our ResNet buildings (currently 5, with 11 more to
>>be wired over the next several years). Our BOOTP behaves this way:
>>* Each Mac or PC that is connected to the building ethernet is assigned an
>> IP address for that building (subnet); UNIX boxes assigned manually
>>* Whenever the machine is conected anywhere in the building (roommate's
>> jack, jack in living room of suite, jack in lounge, etc.) the same
>> IP address is assigned
>>* If machine is moved to another building (subnet), a different IP address
>> is assigned. This is to accommodate laptops, primarily.
>>* All addresses will be erased sometime this summer (since comparatively
>> few students stay in same building, and almost none -- we hope -- need
>> to keep the same IP address).
>
>What about students who are running services dependant on a stable IP
>address? The most acceptable example I can think of would be a WWW or
>Gopher server. There are certainly less legitimate but no less likely
>examples of where a student would want a guaranteed unchanging IP
>address...
You don't need a stable unchanging IP address if you are using BOOTP and
the DNS. That's the beauty of using BOOTP to support multiple IP addresses
for a single host. The "identity" of a machine is based on Ethernet
address (always unique) which then gets assigned a stable hostname which is
associated with perhaps changing IP address.
We have provided support for this (in a limited way) in our campus BOOTP
server. Do the Penn folks support a single hostname no matter where the
machine gets plugged in?
Joel
---
Joel P. Cooper Phone: 219-631-7221
Asst. Director, Networking Services Fax: 219-631-8201
Office of University Computing Email: joel.p.cooper.1@nd.edu
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Data to the People
