basic questions about manual ip assignment

I have a couple of questions about manual IP assignments. I assign manual IP addresses for all of our devices (extenders, laptops, phones, wi-fi thermostats, etc.). Almost all use the "regular" networks (2.4 and 5). The wi-fi thermostats and vacuum cleaner use only the Guest networks (2.5 and 5).

I have a few questions:

1. Even though I’ve. listed the IP Pool Sarting and Ending Addresses from 192.YYY.X.1 to 192.YYY.1.XXX, devices that use the guest network (the vacuum and various visitors’. devices) are assigned 192.YYY.101.YYY or 192.YYY.ZZ. Aren’t these addresses outside the iP Pool?

2. This bevhavior doesn’t apply to 2 of the 3 wi-fi thermo…

I have a few questions:

2. This bevhavior doesn’t apply to 2 of the 3 wi-fi thermostats. All three use the guest network, all three are manually assigned IPs within the IP Pool and yet one wi-fi thermostat consistently shows up on an IP address outside the range, despite being assigned an IP address like the other two.

3. In the Network Map list, what does is the difference between a "Manual" and "Static" Client IP address?

Appreciate the help for this amateur consumer trying to learn and manage my home network.

I assign manual IP addresses for all of our devices (extenders, laptops, phones, wi-fi thermostats, etc.).

Why?

FYI:

When you define the router DHCP server IP Pool, i) the range should include all IP addresses you want assigned by the router DHCP server, both dynamically-assigned and manually-assigned; and ii) the range should not include static IP addresses you assign on each client’s network interface(s).

An ASUSWRT router DHCP server typically re-assigns the same IP address to the same client each time it connects, so this tends to be very much like a static IP address that does not change over time... you just have to ID it once to know what it is.

1. Even though I’ve. listed the IP Pool Sarting and Ending Addresses from 192.YYY.X.1 to 192.YYY.1.XXX, devices that use the guest network (the vacuum and various visitors’. devices) are assigned 192.YYY.101.YYY or 192.YYY.ZZ. Aren’t these addresses outside the iP Pool?

A simple answer is that Guest network IP addresses are managed by the router to keep the guest network/clients isolated from the main network.

2. This bevhavior doesn’t apply to 2 of the 3 wi-fi thermostats. All three use the guest network, all three are manually assigned IPs within the IP Pool and yet one wi-fi thermostat consistently shows up on an IP address outside the range, despite being assigned an IP address like the other two.

Perhaps you have a manual assignment error somewhere... guest clients should connect and have the IP address assigned by the router (dynamic and manually-assigned) or by you (static assignment on client).

Perhaps a cheap/simple IoT device has marginal firmware that gets confused by too many reconfigurations and must be setup from scratch again after a significant/related network change. (Get the network properly configured first; then reconfigure any such troublesome clients.)

I suggest you could avoid a lot of router/network admin overhead by letting the router DHCP server automatically assign all IP addresses (dynamic and manually-assigned), and you only assign a static IP address on a select client that actually needs this extra admin effort for some reason.

3. In the Network Map list, what does is the difference between a "Manual" and "Static" Client IP address?

See above. Router DHCP/dynamic and manually-assigned are by router; static is by you on the client.

The Network Map/Client Lists may not always list correct information, so trust but understand when it is not 100% accurate in the moment you view it.

Incidentally, when you configure ASUSWRT firmware, begin by installing the firmware and then Hard Reset that firmware to its default settings before configuring the firmware from scratch.

FW Reset FAQ

Reset button/webUI Restore/node removal clears settings in NVRAM; reboot restores fw defaults from CFE

Hard Reset via WPS button/webUI Restore+Initialize also clears data logged in /jffs partition

Last edited: Yesterday at 2:32 PM

1. Even though I’ve. listed the IP Pool Sarting and Ending Addresses from 192.YYY.X.1 to 192.YYY.1.XXX, devices that use the guest network (the vacuum and various visitors’. devices) are assigned 192.YYY.101.YYY or 192.YYY.ZZ. Aren’t these addresses outside the iP Pool?

Yes. The first guest network on each band,* if it’s isolated from the main LAN*, is a special case so that they can be propagated to AiMesh nodes. They have their own DHCP range of 192.168.101.x and 192.168.102.x.

2. This bevhavior doesn’t apply to 2 of the 3 wi-fi thermostats. All three use the guest network, all three are manually assigned IPs within the IP Pool and yet one wi-fi thermostat consistently shows up on an IP address outside the range, despite being assigned an IP address like the other two.

See previous answer.

3. In the Network Map list, what does is the difference between a "Manual" and "Static" Client IP address?

Manual is a DHCP reservation made on the router, static is configured on the client itself.

Last edited: Yesterday at 6:04 PM

Why?

I thought assigning fixed IP addresses to all devices on the network improve efficiency. Devices on the guest network are assigned IP addresses automatically in my setup.

Perhaps you have a manual assignment error somewhere... guest clients should connect and have the IP address assigned by the router (dynamic and manually-assigned) or by you (static assignment on client).

Perhaps a cheap/simple IoT device has marginal firmware that gets confused by too many reconfigurations and must be setup from scratch again after a significant/related network change. (Get the network properly configured first; then reconfigure any such troublesome clients.)

I suggest you could avoid a lot of router/network admin overhead by letting the router DHCP server automatically assign all IP addresses (dynamic and manually-assigned), and you only assign a static IP address on a select client that actually needs this extra admin effort for some reason.

I’ve checked for manual assignment errors but will double check again. I suspect it’s the wi-fi thermostat.

Will likely take the advice to let the router assign IP addresses for all but the network infrastructure devices such as the 2 extenders, 1 network switch, and NAS drives.

See above. Router DHCP/dynamic and manually-assigned are by router; static is by you on the client.

Thanks for the clarification. Is it "okay" to manually assign IP using the router and also set the address on the client?

The Network Map/Client Lists may not always list correct information, so trust but understand when it is not 100% accurate in the moment you view it.

Thanks....will keep this in mind.

Incidentally, when you configure ASUSWRT firmware, begin by installing the firmware and then Hard Reset that firmware to its default settings before configuring the firmware from scratch.

I didn’t realize I had to do a Hard Reset after each firmware update and then reconfigure. I thought the router starting over was all that was needed. I’ll do this and then shift to only assigning IP addresses for the "network infrastructure" devices I described earlier and let the router dynamically assign IP addresses.

I didn’t realize I had to do a Hard Reset after each firmware update and then reconfigure.

You don’t!. Normally you would only do a factory reset (hard or otherwise) if you were going to a new firmware version that was *significantly *different than what you currently have. Of course, if you’ve messed up your settings so much that you can’t remember how to undo it a factory reset is often the quickest way to get back to working basic setup.

You don’t!. Normally you would only do a factory reset (hard or otherwise) if you were going to a new firmware version that was *significantly *different than what you currently have. Of course, if you’ve messed up your settings so much that you can’t remember how to undo it a factory reset is often the quickest solution.

Yes...shouldn’t have said "all". I see based on the link provided by @OzarkEdge that I should do so after a major version change or if required in the release notes. Thanks to everyone for answering my questions and improve my network.

Thanks for the clarification. Is it "okay" to manually assign IP using the router and also set the address on the client?

While you *can *do this it’s a recipe for confusion. If you want to change the IP address in the future you have to remember to change it in two places. It’s better to do one or the other, whichever make more sense to you. Personally I try to keep all clients configured for DHCP (which is usually their default setting) and then manually assign them an IP address on the router (if that’s required). That way if in a year or two I want to completely redesign my network addressing I only have to change things on the router, not all the individual clients.

Thanks for the clarification. Is it "okay" to manually assign IP using the router and also set the address on the client?

No. Either the router DHCP server makes the assignment or you do on the client, not both.

I didn’t realize I had to do a Hard Reset after each firmware update and then reconfigure.

For a proper clean start, install the firmware, Hard Reset the firmware, and configure it from scratch. Subsequently, you can simply upgrade the firmware and keep using the current configuration. But, if the upgrade is internally imperfect for some unknown reason and/or you find yourself spending too much time troubleshooting a firmware upgrade, then you may want to Reset/Hard Reset and start over from scratch... this has proven to be necessary from time to time. The Firmware FAQ explains this further. Me, I keep my configuration lean and usually reconfigure an upgrade from scratch to save time and trouble.

The one thing I’d suggest that I haven’t noticed being mentioned already is that once you start assigning static/manual IP addresses, it’s a good idea to keep at least some basic documentation.

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