Linksys BEFW11S4 is doing BAD job as DHCP server

The 'DHCP server' functionality in the Linksys BEFW11S4
does NOT seem to do DHCP correctly. (I'm using their
latest firmware...V 1.45.7)

The wacky behavior that I see is that, from day to day, any of
my various client PCs (some thru wired ports and some wireless),
seem to get a different IP-address assigned to them. It seems
that it is entirely first-come, first-serve, in the order that the
clients bootup and connect to the Linksys router.

(My older D-Link 713P router/firewall/wap was MUCH nicer...
its DHCP behavior alway resulted in each machine's IP-address
being the same over weeks and months. Which is the way things
are SUPPOSED to be, in my view.)

The Linksys, on the other hand, does not seem to implement the
notion of a (non-expired) LEASE at all. Thus, the IP-addresses
given out just flop around in a seemingly random fashion.

(I'll admit I've never read the SPEC for DHCP so I'm no expert.)

Maybe what the D-Link router does, which I like, is to use some
sort of 'hash-mapping' of a client's ethernet-card's MAC address
to the IP-ADDR that it hands out. The reason that I say this
is that I have always noticed that the D-Link does NOT hand
out the lowest valid IP-address in the range selected by the
administrator. So, even when you say to use a 'start range'
value of 192.168.0.100, your first client won't get that value.
But, that's OK! The value that does get handed out is always
within the admin's choice of BEGINNING and ENDING
range of acceptable values. And, their algorithm DOES
have the desired property of PRESERVING values so that
clients end up with the SAME ip-addr day after day.

Maybe the Linksys router firmware programmers need to
do some R&D on how to implement DHCP and fix up their
code to behave better! (Just because they are now owned
by CISCO doesn't mean that their products are implemented
better/more-correctly than the other vendors.)

My 2-cents worth...

Dave

What are you inputting for a lease time? Note the time is in Minutes... very
strange.

"David Cook" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:feudnWE3VPEJiz2iRVn-(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> The 'DHCP server' functionality in the Linksys BEFW11S4
> does NOT seem to do DHCP correctly. (I'm using their
> latest firmware...V 1.45.7)
>
> The wacky behavior that I see is that, from day to day, any of
> my various client PCs (some thru wired ports and some wireless),
> seem to get a different IP-address assigned to them. It seems
> that it is entirely first-come, first-serve, in the order that the
> clients bootup and connect to the Linksys router.
>
> (My older D-Link 713P router/firewall/wap was MUCH nicer...
> its DHCP behavior alway resulted in each machine's IP-address
> being the same over weeks and months. Which is the way things
> are SUPPOSED to be, in my view.)
>
> The Linksys, on the other hand, does not seem to implement the
> notion of a (non-expired) LEASE at all. Thus, the IP-addresses
> given out just flop around in a seemingly random fashion.
>
> (I'll admit I've never read the SPEC for DHCP so I'm no expert.)
>
> Maybe what the D-Link router does, which I like, is to use some
> sort of 'hash-mapping' of a client's ethernet-card's MAC address
> to the IP-ADDR that it hands out. The reason that I say this
> is that I have always noticed that the D-Link does NOT hand
> out the lowest valid IP-address in the range selected by the
> administrator. So, even when you say to use a 'start range'
> value of 192.168.0.100, your first client won't get that value.
> But, that's OK! The value that does get handed out is always
> within the admin's choice of BEGINNING and ENDING
> range of acceptable values. And, their algorithm DOES
> have the desired property of PRESERVING values so that
> clients end up with the SAME ip-addr day after day.
>
> Maybe the Linksys router firmware programmers need to
> do some R&D on how to implement DHCP and fix up their
> code to behave better! (Just because they are now owned
> by CISCO doesn't mean that their products are implemented
> better/more-correctly than the other vendors.)
>
> My 2-cents worth...
>
> Dave
>
>

David Cook <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> The 'DHCP server' functionality in the Linksys BEFW11S4
> does NOT seem to do DHCP correctly. (I'm using their
> latest firmware...V 1.45.7)

> The wacky behavior that I see is that, from day to day, any of
> my various client PCs (some thru wired ports and some wireless),
> seem to get a different IP-address assigned to them. It seems
> that it is entirely first-come, first-serve, in the order that the
> clients bootup and connect to the Linksys router.

The Linksys has a "lease time" on the the DHCP page. The default is "0",
which is one day... I would expect that to be permanent, but, whatever...
You could key in some large number of minutes there, although there is no
indication what the maximum number is.
There is also no ability to tie an IP addresss to remain on a particular
MAC address.

WindowsXP laptops have an "alternate IP address" that might be helpful,
although I forget how it works ;-)
Ahh, there it is. Turn off your DHCP at home, configure this setup, and
then if a DHCP is found, it uses it, defaulting to the alternate if no DHCP
is found.
< http://support.microsoft.com/default...&Product=winxp >

Static addresses can be used very easily with this router, too.

I have a the same model Linksys and at any time I go in and check, days,
weeks, months,
all my machines, even the wireless ones, keep the same IP. I've never
upgraded my firmware
so I don't know if that has anything to do with it.

>
> The 'DHCP server' functionality in the Linksys BEFW11S4
> does NOT seem to do DHCP correctly. (I'm using their
> latest firmware...V 1.45.7)
>
> The wacky behavior that I see is that, from day to day, any of
> my various client PCs (some thru wired ports and some wireless),
> seem to get a different IP-address assigned to them. It seems
> that it is entirely first-come, first-serve, in the order that the
> clients bootup and connect to the Linksys router.
>
> (My older D-Link 713P router/firewall/wap was MUCH nicer...
> its DHCP behavior alway resulted in each machine's IP-address
> being the same over weeks and months. Which is the way things
> are SUPPOSED to be, in my view.)
>
> The Linksys, on the other hand, does not seem to implement the
> notion of a (non-expired) LEASE at all. Thus, the IP-addresses
> given out just flop around in a seemingly random fashion.
>
> (I'll admit I've never read the SPEC for DHCP so I'm no expert.)
>
> Maybe what the D-Link router does, which I like, is to use some
> sort of 'hash-mapping' of a client's ethernet-card's MAC address
> to the IP-ADDR that it hands out. The reason that I say this
> is that I have always noticed that the D-Link does NOT hand
> out the lowest valid IP-address in the range selected by the
> administrator. So, even when you say to use a 'start range'
> value of 192.168.0.100, your first client won't get that value.
> But, that's OK! The value that does get handed out is always
> within the admin's choice of BEGINNING and ENDING
> range of acceptable values. And, their algorithm DOES
> have the desired property of PRESERVING values so that
> clients end up with the SAME ip-addr day after day.
>
> Maybe the Linksys router firmware programmers need to
> do some R&D on how to implement DHCP and fix up their
> code to behave better! (Just because they are now owned
> by CISCO doesn't mean that their products are implemented
> better/more-correctly than the other vendors.)
>
> My 2-cents worth...
>
> Dave
>
>

Juan -

Hmm...very strange. A couple of questions:
o Are your client PCs running Windows? (Or, something else, such as
Linux, etc.?)
o I'm assuming that you don't leave the clients up and running most
nites,
but rather power them down, and then reboot them the next day,
right?
(If you leave them up mostly, then the behavior you see would be
expected.)
o Also, try, just as an experiment, to power down the Linksys
router! My tests
showed conclusively that the Linksys is NOT remembering its DHCP
leases
across its own power-cycles. (Or course, normally most ALL of
us leave
our routers powered up 24 x 7.) But, I live here in the Tampa
Bay area, which
is the 'lightning capital of the US', and we have FREQUENT power
outages
during the summer months. On the other hand, my wonderful
D-Link 713-P
router preserves IP-addresses even across powerfails!

Cheers...

Dave

"Juan" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:q4%nb.8022$(E-Mail Removed) ink.net...
> I have a the same model Linksys and at any time I go in and check, days,
> weeks, months,
> all my machines, even the wireless ones, keep the same IP. I've never
> upgraded my firmware
> so I don't know if that has anything to do with it.
>
> >
> > The 'DHCP server' functionality in the Linksys BEFW11S4
> > does NOT seem to do DHCP correctly. (I'm using their
> > latest firmware...V 1.45.7)
> >
> > The wacky behavior that I see is that, from day to day, any of
> > my various client PCs (some thru wired ports and some wireless),
> > seem to get a different IP-address assigned to them. It seems
> > that it is entirely first-come, first-serve, in the order that the
> > clients bootup and connect to the Linksys router.
> >
> > (My older D-Link 713P router/firewall/wap was MUCH nicer...
> > its DHCP behavior alway resulted in each machine's IP-address
> > being the same over weeks and months. Which is the way things
> > are SUPPOSED to be, in my view.)
> >
> > The Linksys, on the other hand, does not seem to implement the
> > notion of a (non-expired) LEASE at all. Thus, the IP-addresses
> > given out just flop around in a seemingly random fashion.
> >
> > (I'll admit I've never read the SPEC for DHCP so I'm no expert.)
> >
> > Maybe what the D-Link router does, which I like, is to use some
> > sort of 'hash-mapping' of a client's ethernet-card's MAC address
> > to the IP-ADDR that it hands out. The reason that I say this
> > is that I have always noticed that the D-Link does NOT hand
> > out the lowest valid IP-address in the range selected by the
> > administrator. So, even when you say to use a 'start range'
> > value of 192.168.0.100, your first client won't get that value.
> > But, that's OK! The value that does get handed out is always
> > within the admin's choice of BEGINNING and ENDING
> > range of acceptable values. And, their algorithm DOES
> > have the desired property of PRESERVING values so that
> > clients end up with the SAME ip-addr day after day.
> >
> > Maybe the Linksys router firmware programmers need to
> > do some R&D on how to implement DHCP and fix up their
> > code to behave better! (Just because they are now owned
> > by CISCO doesn't mean that their products are implemented
> > better/more-correctly than the other vendors.)
> >
> > My 2-cents worth...
> >
> > Dave
> >
> >
>
>

All machines are running windows. Two desktops and a wireless laptop
running WinMe and one wireless laptop with Win98
I try to remember to shut off the machines when leaving for work in the
morning after reading my email but sometimes I forget.

The DSL modem and the Linksys router are connected to the UPS so if the
power goes out, I have about 45mins before all
power is gone. The power doesn't go off much so maybe I'm protected.

That's how I have it hooked up. Juan

"David Cook" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:KL-dnTvhwZjJHT2iRVn-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Juan -
>
> Hmm...very strange. A couple of questions:
> o Are your client PCs running Windows? (Or, something else, such
as
> Linux, etc.?)
> o I'm assuming that you don't leave the clients up and running
most
> nites,
> but rather power them down, and then reboot them the next day,
> right?
> (If you leave them up mostly, then the behavior you see would
be
> expected.)
> o Also, try, just as an experiment, to power down the Linksys
> router! My tests
> showed conclusively that the Linksys is NOT remembering its
DHCP
> leases
> across its own power-cycles. (Or course, normally most ALL of
> us leave
> our routers powered up 24 x 7.) But, I live here in the Tampa
> Bay area, which
> is the 'lightning capital of the US', and we have FREQUENT
power
> outages
> during the summer months. On the other hand, my wonderful
> D-Link 713-P
> router preserves IP-addresses even across powerfails!
>
> Cheers...
>
> Dave
>
> "Juan" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:q4%nb.8022$(E-Mail Removed) ink.net...
> > I have a the same model Linksys and at any time I go in and check, days,
> > weeks, months,
> > all my machines, even the wireless ones, keep the same IP. I've never
> > upgraded my firmware
> > so I don't know if that has anything to do with it.
> >
> > >
> > > The 'DHCP server' functionality in the Linksys BEFW11S4
> > > does NOT seem to do DHCP correctly. (I'm using their
> > > latest firmware...V 1.45.7)
> > >
> > > The wacky behavior that I see is that, from day to day, any of
> > > my various client PCs (some thru wired ports and some wireless),
> > > seem to get a different IP-address assigned to them. It seems
> > > that it is entirely first-come, first-serve, in the order that the
> > > clients bootup and connect to the Linksys router.
> > >
> > > (My older D-Link 713P router/firewall/wap was MUCH nicer...
> > > its DHCP behavior alway resulted in each machine's IP-address
> > > being the same over weeks and months. Which is the way things
> > > are SUPPOSED to be, in my view.)
> > >
> > > The Linksys, on the other hand, does not seem to implement the
> > > notion of a (non-expired) LEASE at all. Thus, the IP-addresses
> > > given out just flop around in a seemingly random fashion.
> > >
> > > (I'll admit I've never read the SPEC for DHCP so I'm no expert.)
> > >
> > > Maybe what the D-Link router does, which I like, is to use some
> > > sort of 'hash-mapping' of a client's ethernet-card's MAC address
> > > to the IP-ADDR that it hands out. The reason that I say this
> > > is that I have always noticed that the D-Link does NOT hand
> > > out the lowest valid IP-address in the range selected by the
> > > administrator. So, even when you say to use a 'start range'
> > > value of 192.168.0.100, your first client won't get that value.
> > > But, that's OK! The value that does get handed out is always
> > > within the admin's choice of BEGINNING and ENDING
> > > range of acceptable values. And, their algorithm DOES
> > > have the desired property of PRESERVING values so that
> > > clients end up with the SAME ip-addr day after day.
> > >
> > > Maybe the Linksys router firmware programmers need to
> > > do some R&D on how to implement DHCP and fix up their
> > > code to behave better! (Just because they are now owned
> > > by CISCO doesn't mean that their products are implemented
> > > better/more-correctly than the other vendors.)
> > >
> > > My 2-cents worth...
> > >
> > > Dave
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>