Ron Nutter helps a service tech address a client’s odd IP configuration
I work for a copier service in Virginia and was sent on a call to connect a new copier to a network that had just been sit up in a church. I have connected many a copy/printer to networks but this time only one PC could print. As I went from PC to PC looking at the IP config, I found that the IPs were different on each PC. The first octet on one PC was 215, the next 213, one was 64, and so on. I have never seen this before. The crazy thing was most of them could get on the Internet. The copier could only talk to one after I set the IP to 215.bla.bla.bla. The DSL modem was connected to Line 1 on the router, not the “Line In” on the router. Line In from the router was connected to the hub link, Lines 2 & 4 from the router connected to the hub Line In, and the rest of the cables plugged into the hub outlets. The thing that blew me away was how did the PCs get such a wide range of different IPs? Can you please turn a light on for me?
Scott
It definitely sounds like we have a configuration problem here. Each PC should have a distinct IP address. The subnet mask controls how much of the IP address refers to the network identification and how much specifically identifies the individual host.
How everything is connected concerns me. It sounds like the router is being used merely as a hub and providing no firewall benefits. You’re connect in pointing out that the router should go to Line In or in some cases a port labeled WAN. If all the workstations were behind the firewall, I would expect to see an IP range such as 192.168.1.x with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. The last part of the IP address would uniquely identify the host.
This is where you will need to step carefully. What I have found in quite a few church situations is that some well -meaning member of the church offered to set things up for them and this person didn’t really know as much as they thought they did. It could also be the ISP that set this up, sending out a junior tech who had set up a few networks and was an “expert” at doing this. Either way, talk to your boss about what you have found, documenting all your findings and possibly with a drawing, as well showing how things are hooked up and how you believe they should be hooked up. If you happened to write down the manufacturer and model number of the router, see if you can download an owner’s manual. This would also show the “correct” way to set this up. Let your boss decide how to proceed. Coming from the owner or management of your company expressing a “concern” over something that was found on the church’s network could be received much better than a service tech appearing to be pointing fingers. The more documentation you or your boss have before approaching the church shows your concern for their well being and that you have your facts right before taking a stand. It might be worth asking who did their network and approaching them quietly at some type of neutral meeting place.
