[selowitch]

Is it wise to set things up thusly?

DSL Modem is set up to hand out a rotating IP address using DHCP to my router, so it could be said that my Wide Area Network (WAN) is "dynamic." Beneath that, I'd like the router to give out "static" IP addresses (192.168.x.x), each using same subnet (255.255.255.0). This way, I'll always know the internal Large Area Network (LAN) IP addresses for my Macintosh, my wife's PC, my Xbox, my print server, etc.

Question: It looks like under Windows 2000, if I specify an IP address I also have to specify a DNS. Which device would have the proper DNS listed on its configuration screen?

[John Strung]

Macs also require you to specify the DNS IP's if you are using a static address. Many routers allow you to specify the router LAN IP address as the DNS address. The router will then supply the proper DNS address.

If that doesn't work, you can usually find the actual DNS IP's on the Status page of your router's admin utility.

[aaanorton]

You can also set up reserved IPs on most current routers. This way you just set each machine to use DHCP, but the router assigns the same IP to a given MAC address every time. I think this is a little easier myself, but either way...

[Scarpa]

I'll echo what John said, either use the router as the DNS server or if that doesn't work grab them off the status page and enter them manually.

One clarification though, your router doesn't "hand out" static addresses, you have to put them in manually and keep track of them manually. I would also suggest turning off the DHCP functionality of your router if you intend to use static addressing so that no one can just hop on your network and get an address (may be irrelevant if wired network).

Edit: I wish my router supported reservations. It's by FAR the easiest method.