3Com 3CRWE554G72 User Guide - Page 97

How does a Device Obtain an IP Address and Subnet Mask? 97 This type of IP Address operates on a subnet mask of '255.255.0.0'. See Table 5 for an example about how a network (only four computers represented) and a Gateway might be configured. Table 5 IP Addressing and Subnet Masking Device PC 1 PC 2 PC 3 PC 4 Gateway IP Address 192.168.100.8 192.168.201.30 192.168.113.155 192.168.002.230 192.168.002.72 Subnet Mask 255.255.0.0 255.255.0.0 255.255.0.0 255.255.0.0 255.255.0.0 How does a Device Obtain an IP Address and Subnet Mask? There are three different ways to obtain an IP address and the subnet mask. These are: ■ Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Addressing ■ Static Addressing ■ Automatic Addressing (Auto-IP Addressing) DHCP Addressing The Gateway contains a DHCP server, which allows computers on your network to obtain an IP address and subnet mask automatically. DHCP assigns a temporary IP address and subnet mask which gets reallocated once you disconnect from the network. DHCP will work on any client Operating System such as Windows® 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0. Also, using DHCP means that the same IP address and subnet mask will never be duplicated for devices on the network. DHCP is particularly useful for networks with large numbers of users on them. Static Addressing You must enter an IP Address and the subnet mask manually on every device. Using a static IP and subnet mask means the address is permanently fixed. Auto-IP Addressing Network devices use automatic IP addressing if they are configured to acquire an address using DHCP but are unable to contact a DHCP server. Automatic IP addressing is a scheme where devices allocate themselves