Frank Cox wrote: > I am setting up a customized application server for a business in the USA and > am at my wits end with Qwest Communications. > > My client called them to obtain a static IP address and they gave him the IP > address, subnet and primary and secondary DNS server. And that's it. No > gateway address. (They told him that the gateway is 192.168.0.1, believe it > or not.) He told me that they refuse to give him the gateway address unless he > wants a block of IP addresses. They won't give it out if he just wants one > address. > > I said that's ridiculous; a static IP address can't work without specifying a > gateway address. He gave me his "case number" and all of that rigamarole and I > phoned Quest tech support myself. > > Sure enough. I told the guy who answered the phone what I want and he said > that they won't give out the gateway address unless he gets a block of IP > addresses. I said that as far am I am aware it is impossible for the customer > to actually use his static IP address without a gateway, but that made no > difference. No gateway. > > Qwest gave him some kind of a magical installation CD that set up his Windows > XP computer to go online. And it is online, he can plug his Windows computer > into that modem and browse the web and so on with no problem. > > Dandy. We can get the magic numbers off of this Windows machine. > > So I told him to run "ipconfig" and tell me what it says. > > IP Address is what he was assigned by Qwest, good. > Subnet 255.255.255.0, good. > Gateway 192.168.0.1 ---- ?!?!?! > > > Whether he is online or offliine with that Windows machine, the traceroute > stops at 205.171.139.149 as shown. And his network is not 205.171.139.x! > > I have absolutely no idea what's going on here. > > Can any of you offer any insight? The whole thing is an Alice in Wonderland > thing as far as I can see, and the further I go down this rabbit hole the less > sense it seems to make. I don't see how those settings on his Windows computer > can work, and I don't see how the tracert results that he got can be possible > either. But it does, and it did. > > And, as I said, nobody that we can actually talk to at Qwest can provide any > information at all, other than run the CD and it will all be set up by magic. > > You may want to check to see if the Windows machine is still doing DHCP to get its information. Even though he has a static IP address, the modem may still be configured to use DHCP, and provide a static IP address that way. If you are using PPPoE, I would still expect the same setup - you connect as if you were getting a dynamic IP address, and always get the same static IP address as your DHCP lease. Mikkel -- Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with Ketchup!
