IP address

From Axentra

An IP address is a unique number that identifies a given computer on your LAN, or on the internet. It is usually given in the form 127.0.0.1, where each number is an integer between 0 and 255. No two computers on a given network can have the same IP address.

Local Network (LAN)

Computers on your LAN can be manually assigned an IP address, or they can be given one dynamically by a DHCP server. Most Home Series and SOHO Series Axentra Servers can act as DHCP servers, but not as clients; the Soft and Classic Series Servers can act only as clients. (For full details on the capabilities of Axentra Servers, see the feature comparison chart (http://www.axentra.com/products/consumer/matrix.html).) All Servers can be manually assigned a static IP address.

Choosing an IP address

There are three ranges of IP addresses available for use for a LAN:

• 192.168.0.1 - 192.168.255.255
• 10.0.0.1 - 10.255.255.255
• 172.16.0.1 - 172.31.255.255

If you choose any other range of IP addresses, it will conflict with the addresses of other computers on the internet, and computers on your LAN won't be able to access those sites.

It is standard practice to give your network gateway an IP address from the above range, ending in .1 (such as 192.168.0.1), and to have it run a DHCP server, which assigns IP addresses to the other computers on your LAN.

It is difficult to choose a manual IP address for a computer on your LAN, since you need to ensure that the IP address in question isn't already being used. Whenever possible, it is better to use a DHCP server. If you must manually assign an IP address to your computer, you must base it off the IP address and subnet mask of your network gateway. For example, if your network gateway's IP address is 192.168.0.1, and its subnet mask is 255.255.255.0, you can assign your computer any unused IP address from 192.168.0.2 to 192.168.0.254.

When you assign your computer a manual IP address, you will also need to specify its subnet mask and default gateway. Enter the same subnet mask that your gateway uses as your own subnet mask, and enter your network gateway's IP address as the default gateway.

Windows XP

To configure your Windows computer's IP address:

• Go to the Start Menu, and choose My Network Places. Click on View Network Connections in the resulting window. You should now see all of your computer's network interfaces.
• Right-click on "Local Area Connection" and select Properties. Select "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" in the resulting window, and click the Properties button.
  • To obtain an IP address from a DHCP server, select "Obtain an IP address automatically" and "Obtain DNS server address automatically".
  • To assign a manual IP address to your computer, select "Use the following IP address:" and enter your chosen IP address and other information (see above). Select "Use the following DNS server addresses:" and enter your gateway's IP address again.
• Keep clicking OK until all the windows disappear.
• Start the network interface by double-clicking on it. If you were already using the interface, disable it first by right-clicking on it.

Mac OS X

To configure your Mac OS X computer's IP address:

• Open a new Finder window. Go to the Applications folder, and run the System Preferences application.
• Click Network at the top of the window. When the window changes, select Network Status from the "Show" pulldown, and then select the network interface you wish to configure. (It will probably have the word "ethernet" in its name.)
  • To obtain an IP address from a DHCP server, click on the "Configure IPv4" pulldown and select "Using DHCP".
  • To assign a manual IP address to your computer, click on the "Configure IPv4" pulldown and select "Manually". Enter your IP address and other information (see above). Enter your gateway's IP address as your DNS server.
• Click the Apply Now button to apply your changes.

Linux

Your Linux distribution should have come with system utilities that will let you configure your computer's IP address manually or automatically. Consult your local documentation for instructions.

LAN Problems

• If other computers on the LAN are having trouble reaching your computer, ensure that there are no other computers on your LAN with the same IP address.
• If you cannot access all the computers on your LAN, your subnet mask may be misconfigured.
• If you cannot access any other computers at all, check your network cable, and your computer's link light, if it has one.

Internet (WAN)

In order for your Axentra Server (or other gateway) to be connected to the internet, it must have an IP address. Most ISPs provide two types of address:

• Static IP address: your ISP gives you an IP address which will never change. Even if you don't assign a domain name for your Axentra Server or other gateway, you can still access it from the internet using this IP address. Most ISPs will charge an extra fee to give you a static IP address.
• Dynamic IP address: your ISP periodically changes your IP address, for various reasons. Since there is no way to be certain of what IP address currently points to your Axentra Server or other gateway, you need to register a domain name, and subscribe to a dynamic DNS service, in order to be able to access your Server or gateway from the internet.

Configuring your Axentra Server

If your Axentra Server is from the Home or SOHO Series, it can (and should) be directly connected to your internet connection. You can configure it to obtain an IP address automatically, or to use the specific IP address your ISP gave you, on the ISP Configuration screen of the admin area.

WAN Problems

See Internet problems.

Finding your Current IP Address

Using the web interface

You can find your Axentra Server's LAN and WAN IP addresses by signing in to the web interface as an Administrator, and going to the ISP Connection page in the admin area. Your IP addresses are shown at the bottom of the page.

Using the command prompt

If you cannot access the web interface, you can find your IP address from the command prompt.

To determine the LAN IP address of a Home or SOHO series Server, or the only IP address of a Soft or Classic server, enter this command at the command prompt:

/sbin/ifconfig br0

The output will be something like this:

br0       Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:40:F4:66:EC:C2  
          inet addr:192.168.0.1  Bcast:192.168.0.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:4343 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:13875 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:373785 (365.0 Kb)  TX bytes:9555334 (9.1 Mb)

The first three lines are the important ones. 'inet addr' is the IP address; 'Mask' is the subnet mask. The word 'UP' in the third line indicates that the interface is active.

To determine the WAN IP address of a Home or SOHO series Server, enter this command at the command prompt:

/sbin/ifconfig eth0

The output will be similar to that given above.