Re: Dynamic IP...

[Seth Arnold <sarnold@willamette.edu>]

* Doktor Faustus <faustus@telusplanet.net> [010215 06:45]:
> Is there a way to get it to assign a different IP every time the lease
> expires?  A security minion from my ISP has contacted me, threatening to cut
> off my DSL service if my IP doesn't change soon.  It would be easier to just
> comply than to explain.  Also, I think this may pose a problem to anyone
> using a dynamic DNS service such as dyndns.org.  If I remember correctly,
> they boot you off thier service if your IP stays the same for more than 30
> days.

That security minion is an idiot.

It is his DHCP server that is handing out the leases. It is completely
free to refuse to renew the lease after X hours. Your client is acting
exactly as the DHCP specification allows it to act in requesting for an
extension of its lease. If his server does not perform to his expectations
he should really either hack it up to perform as his organization wants it
to perform, or he should look into selecting another DHCP server, one that
supports the strange things they wish to do.

Furthermore, if he thinks that by keeping you from having a
static-looking IP will prevent you from running ``servers'' (I bet he
has used that word too, with no qualifications of what is and is not
specifically allowed, nor why) then he is of course living in a state of
sin. 

If you would rather just comply than tell him why he is an idiot
(understandable enough) then turn your machine off for an hour and go get
a drink or buy more food (remember food? :) or go watch ducks at a nearby
duck pond. When you get back, turn your machine on. If the security minion
tells you after this that you need a new IP, tell him you turned your
machine off for a whole hour, and don't look forward to doing it again. Be
sure to mention that one of the selling points of DSL is ``always on'',
and if your connection can't be always on, then something is wrong with
their advertising. And let him know he is an idiot when you find another
provider that has more of a clue. (Well, ok, maybe that isn't a good idea.
But it *sounds* fun to say. :) 

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