Static IP or not?

[Munckles]

Hiya,

Bit of a n00b question but here goes....!

If an ISP is offering a free Static IP address, should I take it? I know what the advantages are but can anyone tell me about the disadvantages of having a static IP?

Would the Static IP be for my whole broadband connection or would I need another IP (dynamic or static) for other devices i.e. would I need one IP for my PC and another IP for my PS3?

Thanks

[accyuklad]

static ip is nt much difference really and it will work on any console online

[HangTime]

Advantages:
-If you want to run any kind of server (FTP, gaming or whatever), it's good because you can give users your IP and not have to rely on DNS records staying up to date
-Some ISPs may actually be 'oversubscribed' in the sense that they have more customers than available IP addresses. This was more common in the dialup or early ADSL days (when people generally didn't have permanently connected routers), essentially it means that in the unlikely event that nearly everyone is connected at once, you might have to wait for an IP address to come available. To be honest this shouldn't happen anymore, but if there was a major fault with your ISPs equipment knocking out a whole range of addresses, you don't want to be contended with other users.
-It can make it easier to configure some software to use active rather than passive mode since you can 'hardcore' your IP address
-If your connection drops, you may be able to resume what you were doing before the session times out - this wouldn't be possible if your IP address changed
-You can get 'lumbered' with someone elses old ip address who might have been e.g. running loads of torrents, causing you to get unwanted traffic heading your way

Disadvantages:
-If you become subject to some sort of DoS attack, it's much harder to avoid. You can't simply reconnect and be assigned a new IP address.


To answer your question, it'd likely be just the 1 static ip address for your shared broadband connection. Getting a range of ip addresses is usually more expensive.

[Munckles]

Thanks for the info, it's greatly appreciated

Going off on a tangent slightly, I've noticed that when I switch on my PS3 my PC informs me of an 'IP Address Conflict' and disables the internet (on the PC) until the PS3 is switched off. This never used to happen and I'm sure I haven't changed any settings. Can anyone give me some advice so that I (the missus I mean!) can go back to surfing the web on the PC whilst the PS3 is connected?

Thanks

[beerhunter]

Someone (you?) has used an IP address that is part of the DHCP Pool as a Fixed Address on your LAN. Unless you have compelling reason to use fixed addresses they can often cause more trouble than they are worth. That is to say IP address clashes such as you have.

Check that the IP settings for all your devices re set to 'Obtain an IP address Automatically' or similar wording, rather than use a Fixed Address.

[Munckles]

Originally Posted by beerhunter

Someone (you?) has used an IP address that is part of the DHCP Pool as a Fixed Address on your LAN. Unless you have compelling reason to use fixed addresses they can often cause more trouble than they are worth. That is to say IP address clashes such as you have.

Check that the IP settings for all your devices re set to 'Obtain an IP address Automatically' or similar wording, rather than use a Fixed Address.

Cheers beerhunter, I've sorted my IP conflict problem, thanks to you. I'm not sure what really happened, I had to adjust a setting on my router. I know I've not meddled with it but I did update the router with firmware a little while ago, maybe it reset some of the settings? Anyway, all is good again!

Going back to my question about having a static IP, if I'm being offered one for free should I just take it even though I don't really need it? Or should I just accept a dynamic IP address?