[Malvern] DHCP versus static.

[Chris Eilbeck]

On Mon, Feb 27, 2006 at 11:41:41AM +0000, Geoff Bagley wrote:
> I am still trying to get a better understanding of Ethernet.
> 
> Do you guys  prefer to use Static IP addresses on your LAN,  or do you 
> prefer DHCP ?

Do you have a dynamic network?  If not, there's no need for DHCP.  If you're
gonna ssh into other boxes or mount their disks then it's a pain if you've
got DHCP running on the remote ends, you don't know where they are unless
you're running a local DNS.  If your DHCP always gives the same addresses to
the same machines then it's not dynamic either and it's just a stupid way of
achieving a static network setup.

> Can you read out the MAC number of  another host (that being invariable) ? 
> A bit like pinging, but more specific and informative.

You mean do an equivalent to ping at the eth level instead of at IP level? 
Probably.  Have you looked at things like tcpdump and ethereal to see what's
happening on your network?

Chris
-- 
Chris Eilbeck
MARS Flight Crew                              http://www.mars.org.uk/
UKRA #1108 Level 2                                                UYB
Tripoli UK Member #9527                                          LSMR