At 02:16 PM -0500 02/13/2003, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: ><< On the Windows box use Winipcfg to release the lease before shutting down, >then the Mac should work. On the Mac, you will need OT Extras to release the >lease so the Wintel box can come back on >> > >I'm not sure what you mean by release the lease. I have AT&T, and when they >first hook you up, their ISP gets your computers MAC and will only allow that >MAC to talk to the ISP. So, If I switch computers, I have to get ahold of >them so they can get it from my new machine. If you have a router, you copy >the MAC (called MAC cloning) to the router, and then you can have any machine >use the ISP through the router.
The original author is making the assumption that the ISP is actually tracking your MAC and has added some sort of intelligence to their DHCP server so that you cannot obtain a new ip lease with a different MAC because you're only allowed one lease. For the most, that's not a very good assumption. DHCP Servers are stupid. They will issue a lease to anything. They "track" lease holders for the life of the lease (plus a bit) based upon their MAC or a DHCP Client ID[*]. This is done only so they can issue the same ip when the lease is renewed. (+/- some other overriding parameters). When switching from one computer to another, the real problem is NOT your DHCP lease. The problem is (simplified) Permission-To-Talk. Your modem is granted permission-to-talk by the head-end because its MAC is registered in the ISP's database and listed as active (not suspended for failure to pay, etc). (This is what they mean by provisioned). The configuration file that is tftp'd to the modem during its initialization sequence tells the modem to only allow you to talk with one computer. Your modem enforces this "permission to talk" limit by remembering and talking to only the first MAC it sees. You reset this by power-cycling the modem, NOT by releasing some dhcp-issued lease... [*] The problem with the DHCP Client ID is that it is user fumbleable. As @Home discovered, it made for a serious tech support hassle. And when users "accidentally" used their neighbor's ID... The solution to this was to do permission-to-talk with the modem only and just key on the client's MAC for normal dhcp ops. FWIW, - Dan. -- MacNetwork is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... XRouter Pro | Share your DSL or cable modem between multiple computers! Dr. Bott | Only $199 <http://www.drbott.com/prod/MIH130.html> Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> MacNetwork list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/macnet.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; end list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/macnetwork%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
