BTHub 6 Static IP addresses

[#1]

I need some help with this, 

I run a media server on  a Raspberry pi on my home network. When i couldn't connect to it the other day I found that its IP address had changed. That was odd and as its on 24x7 and has been for a couple of years, I haven't been able to figure out why. To prevent this I decided that I would change the device settings so this item has "always use this IP address" set to Yes.

I have had a few issues over the last few days with IP address conflicts with other devices but I think  a router restart has cleared that.

Most  devices show up in the table list as 192.168.1.nnn (DHCP) including the RPi but a couple show up as 192.168.1.nnn (Static). With the static ones its not possible to edit the "always use this IP address". I have a couple of google mini smart speakers and one of those is DHCP but the other other is static. 

Can some kind person explain what is happening here generally and specifically what is causing some devices to have a static IP address please? 

Thanks  

[#2]

There will be experts that can give a fuller explanation but Ive found static IP addresses to be where youve entered that address into the device yourself - often there's an option in the device settings to turn off by DHCP and enter the IP address - along with the subnet mask and gateway (the router). It might be best to choose static addresses outside the router's DHCP range (i.e. below .64).

Ive found this handy for a couple of devices but DHCP works fine for most things. Back in the day I thought that apps might work better with devices when the IP address didnt vary so used "always use this IP address" to get a similar effect to static IP but the Hub 2 seems to allocate the same address most of the time anyway.

[#3]

Thanks. I'll take a look at that. Still unclear on why some devices get a static address without any intervention.

[#4]

The My Network screen can be a little glitchy and sometimes devices might be wrongly labelled Static. After some time as the DHCP server renews leases things might clear up, or take the approach of turning everything off and then bringing each device on-line gradually one at a time. I think this is one of the things improved in the Hub 2 - if you can find a way around the WiFi bands not having their own SSIDs.

[#5]

@the_groundsman 

One observation. When you set an IP address on the router for a device I would call that a "reservation".

The device requests an IP address from the router by DHCP but is always given the same one (so for all intents and purposes it is static).

I would call a "real" static IP address one that is set on the device (so the device doesn't use DHCP). If you have any of those it is best (if possible) to set them outside the router DHCP range. Often routers have a start address (say 192.168.1.10 or .100) which is the start of the addresses which are issued by DHCP.

An address below that is safe to allocate by setting on the device.

There are various phone apps which can show what is going on with a network. I've found WiFiman and Fing both helpful.

[#6]

Thanks a lot. 

I've learned a lot over the last week and have now come to appreciate the difference between a static IP Address between me and the outside world, and reserving an IP Address in the router for my devices. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing as they used to say but i am learning as we go.

I use network analyser app for android as it shows Scans for available wifi signals and also scans my local network so  can see what devices are on and their address.

I tried setting an address below the DHCP reserved range but couldn't get that to work on the BTHub and reserving one within the DHCP range caused some conflicts. May be I was too hasty and it would have settled down if I had left it to do it's thing but the conflicts spooked me a bit.

It's not a major problem as if the server address does change and it only has done a handful of times, it's only a minor inconvenience to remap to the new address.

My latest work around has been to increase the lease time from the default 1 day to 10 days. It says the max allowed is 21 days. Given the server is always on I don't see why 1 day wouldn't have been more than adequate but we will see. I did ask for some help on the help forum for the media server and the consensus was that I probably need a better router than an isp supplied one if I'm to the job properly.

Thanks again for helping

Nick

[#7]

I would suggest giving the raspberry pi a static IP Address rather than letting the BT Hub do it if you are having problems using the Hub GUI.

There are many tutorials online how to set the pi to have a static IP Address, all you need to do is to ensure the address is below .64, not .0 and not already used.

Let me know if you need further assistance.

[#8]

Thanks Dan.

I am wary of doing this as I run PiCore as the Operating system for Logitech Media Server and it is expressly not recommend to do  this when attaching wirelessly. I can't easily have the Pi wired.

[#9]

I understand your reluctance to change a wifi IP Address, but provided you have a screen and keyboard connected to the pi rather than changing it remotely you should be safe.

[#10]

It's a headless music server so no keyboard or screen :).

Everything is done remotely

[#11]

Well I run a few headless systems, but that does not prevent me from connecting a local screen and keyboard to make changes. I  have to reboot the pi to enable the screen which i would do using ssh.