Question Answered

[BorderingOn]

I haven't seen a dynamic IP since dialup days.

I've even disconnected my dsl and cable modems and unplugged their power. And as soon as they reconnect, I'm back at the same IP address I had before.

This is called DHCP. There is a lease time. Only if the lease expires will the ip be returned to the pool. Just because it rarely changes doesn't mean it's not dynamic.

Oh, and email preview doesn't necessarily require the recipient do anything. All depends on the mail client and its settings.

 

[IHelpId10t5]

My standard TWC cable IP has been fixed for more than a year... I don't accept that "most IP are dynamic" at all.

Agreed. Although most ISPs will charge you extra to guarantee a fixed IP, the reality is that even "dynamic" IPs with major ISPs rarely change for months or years, even across router reboots.

 

[thewitt]

The main reason that we used to have dynamic IP addresses from home Internet suppliers was the demand exceeded the supply, and connections were not always on. That's simply not the case today, so there is no real reason to assign dynamic IPs any more.

 

[BorderingOn]

The main reason that we used to have dynamic IP addresses from home Internet suppliers was the demand exceeded the supply, and connections were not always on. That's simply not the case today, so there is no real reason to assign dynamic IPs any more.

I don't think that's exactly true. The point is not having to configure or manage individual nodes. I suppose providers could take the extra step of creating a DHCP reservation since they have to register each modem on their network anyway but not having DHCP means users are responsible for configuring their assigned IP, gateway, DNS, etc. as per their connection type. This makes the network more complex to manage than it needs to be. With DHCP you can usually pull multiple "public" IPs if you need to. If home users were static, I can see providers assigning one and only one.

There really is no benefit to a home user having a static IP in most cases. If you want to host something, that will most likely be at odds with T&C and asynchronous upload speeds anyway. Lots of cloud providers to do that much better and more securely.

 

[thewitt]

I don't think that's exactly true. The point is not having to configure or manage individual nodes. I suppose providers could take the extra step of creating a DHCP reservation since they have to register each modem on their network anyway but not having DHCP means users are responsible for configuring their assigned IP, gateway, DNS, etc. as per their connection type. This makes the network more complex to manage than it needs to be. With DHCP you can usually pull multiple "public" IPs if you need to. If home users were static, I can see providers assigning one and only one.

There really is no benefit to a home user having a static IP in most cases. If you want to host something, that will most likely be at odds with T&C and asynchronous upload speeds anyway. Lots of cloud providers to do that much better and more securely.

You are welcome to your opinion. Having managed corporate networks for 30 years, I'm fairly confident I understand the value of DHCP in the Internet service provider business.

 

[willmtaylor]

Omg how do I turn this off I'm really scared now!

Ty

What have you been doing?!

 

[BorderingOn]

You are welcome to your opinion. Having managed corporate networks for 30 years, I'm fairly confident I understand the value of DHCP in the Internet service provider business.

Could you help me understand why you believe it is still used? It's not like we're on dial-up any more. (Perhaps a little OT but still related to gathering one's public IP.)

As someone who has worked in a similar field for many years, I can tell you managing a corporate network doesn't necessarily give you any knowledge of service provider networks. Different animal.