Need Help With My Wireless Router

[Moonlight_Graham]

So i bought a new wireless PC printer a few months ago. When I install the printer drivers on my 2 laptops, the printer works fine for a week or so, then all of a sudden the printer will stop working until I reinstall the drivers again. Done this a dozen times. The IT support guy at the printer manufacturer (Samsung) says that my printer is losing wireless connection to my laptops because my wireless router is set to Dyanamic IP therefore my IP address changes every so often, meaning the IP addresses on my laptops and the printer no longer match the way they were initially set up. The IT guy said I need to change my router to Static IP setting so my IP addresses no longer change. IT guy said this brand of printer is not supported for Dynamic IP. My internet provider said they set my connection to Static IP so its my router thats on Dynamic IP.

 

Questions:

a) how do I change my wireless router (a Linksys/Cisco model: WRT160N V2) settings from Dyanmic IP to Static IP?

 

b) since imy IP addresses won't be changing at all with Static IP is this safe for my 2 laptops, ie: hackers and cookies/data-mining being easier to track my PC?

Edited February 1, 2013 by Moonlight_Graham

[ToadMan]

You are correct. Since you don't have more than 1 IP address from your ISP, you have to use Network Address Translation (NAT) on you local network (in this case your wireless). The router will have it's own DHCP server (Dynamic Host Control Protocol), which is doing the nuts and bolts of handing out IP addresses to devices that connect.

 

It's usually not advisable to turn of DHCP completely as it makes it a bit more annoying to configure your other devices. That being said, it looks like your router supports a feature called DHCP Reservation (most do these days). That will allow your router to only hand give a certain address to a certain device. For all intents your printer will have a static IP address. It will still be doing DHCP to get an address. Since it is working right now I wouldn't see that being a problem.

 

http://cna1.upc.edu.cn/cisco/tools/WRT160N_ug.pdf Page 8 seems to cover what you need. You will need to figure out which device is your printer and make it a reserved client.

 

Hope that helps.

[Moonlight_Graham]

That being said, it looks like your router supports a feature called DHCP Reservation (most do these days). That will allow your router to only hand give a certain address to a certain device. For all intents your printer will have a static IP address. It will still be doing DHCP to get an address. Since it is working right now I wouldn't see that being a problem.

 

http://cna1.upc.edu..../WRT160N_ug.pdf Page 8 seems to cover what you need. You will need to figure out which device is your printer and make it a reserved client.

 

Thanks Toad I really appreciate your help!

 

I'm a bit confused on what you said above. So you're saying to make my printer a reserved client (essentially giving it one non-changing IP address)? How do you know it's my printer's IP changing that is causing the problems, and not my laptop(s) changing/dynamic IP addresses causing the miscommunication between printer and my laptops? ie: What is your reasoning of not making my laptops "reserved clients" instead? Or making both laptops and my printer all reserved clients?

[ToadMan]

Well... Here is what I am assuming. When the driver sets up, it uses the current IP address of the printer as a static address. I'm making that assumption since the printer works for a while and then stops, which is probably related to how long it takes until random chance gets your printer a different IP. Generally the addresses of you laptops isn't going to matter because the printer isn't aware of then at any time other than when the driver is talking to it. Since re-installing the driver fixes the issue, then I lean more that the issue is going to be with the printer.

You can set up the laptops to have reserved IPs, it wouldn't be harmful. I actually have this setup on my home network. Only roving guest computers have a true DHCP address.

[Moonlight_Graham]

thanks again Toad. I'll have to try this shiznit out then when I get some more time.

[saturnine]

did you get it working?

[Moonlight_Graham]

Yes. And by yes I really mean no. Fuck technology.