help with DHCP and OVMS 7.3-1, TCP/IP 5.3

[Jeffrey Smith_7]

I have a PWS 433au connected to a home network where the router provides the IP address. Can these versions query the router to obtain an IP address?
If so, can a brief config sequence be included.
Thanks for any help!
Jeff

[Peter Quodling]

um, run tcpip$config

select option 2 from the core environment then, selection option 2 from the interface config menu. (for the interface that you choose to use, obviously if you have more than one.)

Go back to the top menu, and select client components, and select dhcp and enable it.

Bear in mind many "home" routers, may not be as smart as is needed in terms of namespace allocation etc... You may be better off to allocate a static ip for your VMS System

q

[comarow]

I've never got it working completely, with a Netgear router. It is autonegotiate and those alpha don't like that.

It works somewhat better at tcpip 5.4 eco 5.

Fighting the same battle

[Willem Grooters]

Set your PWS interface to FIXED (in SRM), so theer will be no negotiation. Next, configure TCPIP, Client components, and enable DHCP client. That should work.

But before you do so, ask yourself why you should use DHCP in the first place. If you have a volatile environment, it makes sense.
I have done it differently: My vms box serves as domain mail and webserver, and, for the local zone, as DNS and DHCP server. In the DHCP configurartion, I defined default gateway (the router), DNS (VMS box as primary and router as secondary) and a small range of addresses to be used by the DHCP-depending systems. DNS has been set to be dynamic so new systems are added automatically.
This is not yet perfect but does the job pretty well. Any new system has all data needed.

[Peter Quodling]

Last entry reminded me of someone who set up their DNS Servers to be issued IP addresses from their DHCP Servers. Think about the confusion this can cause...

q

[Andy Bustamante]

If you're connecting the Alpha to equipment that doesn't support hard configuration for spped and duplex, you're generally better off setting the Alpha to half duplex.

[comarow]

My router is set to full duplex, 100 mb,
and my alpha is set to that.

But the router will autonegotiate.

It doesn't work right.

[John Gillings]

Commodity routers are generally HARD set to autonegotiate. The individual ports CANNOT be configured to a fixed speed and duplex setting.

If your Alpha is capable of autonegotiation, then it should be used. I'm fairly sure that most models still in service today should support it.

If the Alpha cannot autonegotiate, then the only hard setting that will work correctly with an autonegotiating port is 100MB HALF DUPLEX.

Why? Because of the autonegotiation algorithm. The line speed can be identified regardless, but if a negotiation request gets no response, the initiator will select HALF DUPLEX. A port with a hard setting will not respond, so it's assumed to be HALF DUPLEX.

Beware that a duplex mismatch may only misbehave when the link is loaded. The typical symptom is your network "works" most of the time, but slows down significantly when loaded.

There's a fair bit of mythology out there about Alphas and Autonegotiation. It DOES work! Alphas DO like it! The important thing to remember is that both ends of the wire should agree. Both AUTO or both hard set.

Since most hubs, switches and routers today are set to auto, that's what you should use.

[Willem Grooters]

@John:

Some combination of NIC and switche are known (by experience, no doubt) to be troublesome with Alpha's, others are fine.

New Alphas will probably not object, but a PWS can hardly be called a recent one, does it?
I think it depends largly on the network connectors used on the Alpha, and "the other side". I once tried an older type of DE500 but that ran wild on auto-negotiation when connected to a (non-managed) switch or a NIC set to auto-negotiate; but when both sides were set to a fixed setting both could handle, there was no problem at all.

@Peter:
It's a matter of configuration.
I do NOT allow my DHCP server to name the added machines, it will just give them an IP address and all data they need for accessing the network and the internet (local DNS and default gateway).

[Jeffrey Smith_7]

Thanks for all the help. I found it easier to buy a used terminal and work from that.
Cheers

[Jeffrey Smith_7]

Thanks