Static IP vs DHCP Reservation

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Back to network basics... What is a Static IP? What is a DHCP lease? What is a DHCP Reservation? I answer these and other questions in this video, I also explain the differences between Static IPs and DHCP Reservations, the pros and cons, as well as use case scenarios for each.

Static IPs and DHCP Reservations can be used on:
-Servers
-Storage (SAN and NAS)
-Network Switches, Routers, Gateways, and Load Balancers
-Printers
-Wireless Access Points
-Computers and Workstations that host services
-VoIP Telephony
-IoT Devices

Learn when and where to use them.

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[RicardoValero]

Thanks, I was looking for someone who could explain this clearly.
I changed all my office's network structure consisting of two modems, a load balance router, a switch (with a NAS, PBX, security cams, wifi routers, SIP phones, etc.). All of the devices were set to static IPs by an ex-coworker and everything worked fine.
Gradually people misconfigured devices (duplicate IPs or resetting devices and expecting them to have the preconfigured static IP) and it became a mess. I (having to learn all of this from scratch) didn't understand why they set up like this and started investigating.
So my solution was enabling DHCP on the router (and automatically setting the IP on every device) and filled the reservation list with the desired IP and corresponding mac address.
And that was it. I would've saved so much time if I had known what to look for but also found your video sooner.

[bruce-le-smith]

great video thanks! matches a bunch of forum and blog post research i did a few months back setting up a NAS. since there's a blog post covering all the points you made i feel like this video could've been quite a bit shorter / faster. but if this was someone's very first intro to this topic they might appreciate the thoroughness / pace.

[rango-konk]

This is the 5th time I'm watching this video. I live in India and there are some occasional power cuts which make my router reboot I'm trying to SSH into my Linux Machine but there is no DHCP reservation panel in my router page. My old TP-Link used to...but this one doesn't..
I'm trying to setup DHCP Reservation through MAC Addresses without using STATIC IP. I honestly don't think I fully understand certain concepts like Subnet Mask and such in Static IP.. This video is serving as a great booklet in my journey of learning Networking.

[murtadha]

DHCP actually stands for Dynamic Host CONFIGURATION Protocol

[Quietschbeu]

I love to use my reservations on hypervisor linux VMs. Networking can be that easy and cause i have full control of my network, i dont have a lot of risk of a second faulty DHCP Server and can easily find and block him out

[GregInHouston]

I would point out that the two are not mutually exclusive. Even when a device has a static IP address, I will put in a reservation for it; that is where every device is documented. But I would also point out that not every DHCP is capable of having reservations; I ran into a Cisco router that did not support reservations in its latest firmware. THAT was a problem!!! I had a router die [water damaged it] and so I ordered a new one. The old one did not have the latest firmware; of course, the new did. But I could not put the reservations from the old one onto the new one.

[dennbauer]

Great video, Thanks! One question: I am using some IOT devices at places where WIFI connectivity is an issue. I was recommended to try a fixed IP for better stability and faster re-connects. Can I expect a difference between DHCP reservation and static IP with regards to stability/re-connections or are both methods equal on the effectiveness?

[kalkalasch]

very high quality explanation + video. thanks a lot.

[spocksvulcanbrain]

Gorgeous voice dude. I could fall asleep to you reading the phone book. Anyway, wondering for us home users, what is the benefit, if any, of using a static IP for each device. I heard that drops from roaming won't happen. Can you explain that from a home end-user perspective? Thanks.

[DavidM]

When I set up my NAS on my home network, I was advised to set it with a static IP address which I did. I gave it a nice convenient number ending in .100 However, my router had other ideas and set the address to end in .68 . That was how I learned about static IP and reservations. I ended up setting both a static address on the NAS and a reservation on the router. After watching your video, I'm thinking that I should have just set up a DHCP reservation.

So, my question... should I use just a reservation, just a static IP address, or both ?

[toddhewell]

DHCP reservations are great, we have been using in our environment. Does anyone have suggestions for backing up/archiving DHCP reservations? Believe it can be done through Windows Server.

[jorgemartin]

Can I use both things?? Dhcp reservation on my router for every device connected to my home wifi??? BUT adding static ip too with my cellphones at the same time??? Or have I to deactivate one and leave the other???? Wich one do I choose?? I feel like my smart tv doen't show hd resolution since i did that. Maybe it's another thing, like band steering. I don't know. I will thank for your help

[serenditymuse]

I have a true static IP address from my ISP NOT something in a DHCP range. To me that is true static IP not fixed address in DHCP address. How to I set this?

[DutchTugMaster]

Hello from the Netherlands Chris, question: I reasently daisy-chained a TP-Link AX1500 router (DHCP server off) to my IP provider provided Ubee cable modem/router through the WAN port and put this AX1500 in accespoint mode for WiFi extension. I tried to give the AX1500 router a static adress but that does not work (it wo'nt connect to the home- and internet). It works in dynamic adress mode and I got it on the first ip adress in the DHCP pool. On the Ubee modem/router I am able to make DHCP reservations and put them as active. I normally reset routers ones a week to clear caches, will I then be loosing the reservations?

[ewilliamsdba]

DHCP isn't dynamic host CONTROL protocol, but is rather dynamic host CONFIGURATION protocol. Other than that, it's a nice video.

[ElectricityTaster]

absolute n00b here. If I set up a DHCP reservation for my computer at home, is my network safer from hackers in any way or am I just creating problems?

[lanardfletcher]

How do you create a static ip in an enterprise environment? Like how do network admins create them?

[sjsphotog]

Great info. My old router didnt have the ability to use DHCP Reservations but my new one does. I lost access to my home NAS that I run my Plex server on when they swapped out my router to upgrade my spped recently, and my NAS was set for static IP. Luckily I was able to reset my NAS to reset it back to DHCP without losing data. I think I will now use DHCP Reservations for my printers and IoT devices. But you still suggest setting a NAS to Static IP even though it only for my music files and not for mission critical daily work? Thanks.

[redcell]

Great video. Question. I use a iPad for most of what I do as in my shop I am moving around. But for files I use I need to send them to my laptop wireless.. so I can run my laser and my 3d printer and cnc, my question is I have set it up we’re my iPad is linked to my laptop using the technique of connecting by giving permission to a shared folder which works great but the lease runs out that night so when I go to connect the following day it won’t connect, as ip has grasped a new one from the pool….If a reserve a ip from my Wi-Fi extender (t-link ) is there a way to keep the same ip for my laptop that way when I send files from iPad to laptop wireless the connection is the same always and no need to get another ip. Not sure if u get all this. Any help is appreciated.

[orionpco]

Good morning. I am using a cisco sg350 on a project, I have always used stratix switches which are also built by Cisco. With the stratix switch I am able to assign a persistent ip address to a physical port.. I am unable to achieve this so far with the sg350. Any advice?