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The time and place to use either type depends on what you are connecting the SX-1 to and how you are
using it. If you do not have a router or are not connected to a network employing a switch, you will
probably be using static addresses. The fact that DHCP is dynamic means that the assigning of
addresses has to be managed, and that takes either a router or a switch. If you don t know whether or
not you have one of these devices, you probably don t have one. If you re connecting the SX-1 to a
large LAN with a number of users on it, contact your Network Administrator before setting it up.
These folks can be touchy about people messing with their servers.
NOTE:
If you have a computer already connected to a switch or a router, set the SX-1 to follow the
same behavior if you want to connect them together. This means that if you have a router already
distributing IP s for one or more computers on your network via DHCP, set the SX-1 to run DHCP as
well. This way you will be getting a gateway, subnet, and IP address that will automatically be
compatible with the rest of the network from the switch or router.
4.
Fourth concept: The Subnet Mask (shown as the Net Mask on the SX-1)
A subnet does what you might think it does —
it is a grouping within a network, thus a sub (meaning
below or within) net . Basically, it is a way to define a range of addresses to search, instead of
searching all of the possible live routes available. As the SX-1 is not designed to be on the world
wide web —
the Internet —
because it doesn t have a browser like Netscape or Internet Explorer, the
number of devices that it will connected to will likely be much smaller. This means that for our
purposes, the subnet can be set so that only the 256 addresses possible in the last byte will be checked
when data is being sent.
The default subnet mask is 255.255.255.0, which tells the server that it can look at only the addresses
in the last byte for data recipients. You can tell this because each byte has a numerical limit of 255, so
a subnet mask setting of 255.255.255.0 tells the host to only look at all of the addresses in the last byte
(starting from zero all the way up to 255) for the correct recipient. This is the rough equivalent to
having a setting for the postman that said only search for valid addresses on Maple Drive (which we
used for the last byte in the mail example).
All you need to remember for now is that the subnet must be the same for all of the devices on your
network that you wish to be able to communicate with one another. If you are setting up your own
network between the SX-1 and one other computer, use 255.255.255.0 as the subnet. If you are
installing the SX-1 on a pre-existing network, use the subnet mask that is already being used on the
network in question.
5.
Fifth Concept: The Gateway (or Router, as it is sometimes referred)
The Gateway is, in some ways, the sorter at the post office. If the Gateway setting is incorrect, you ll
be asking the sorter at the wrong post office to process your mail. A sorter in Miami will have little
idea what to do with a package from Hawaii.
Basically, the Gateway needs to be set with an address on the same street as all of the other computers,
so that the mail can make it to and from the main post office (almost like a local satellite mail office -
to take the metaphor past the annoying point). If the IP address of the SX-1 is 192.168.1.3, the
Gateway needs to be 192.168.1. + any other number between 1-255 (excluding 3 obviously).
NOTE:
The Gateway is the pipe through which all the data passes from connected computers. This
means that it must be set to the same value for all connected computers sharing data. Even though the
above paragraph might make it seem as though the Gateway setting is created by referencing the IP
address, the opposite is usually true. This is always the case when a Gateway setting already exists for
one or more computers on the network.
As a rule of thumb, always set the Gateway the same for all
devices on your network that you wish to share data, and make sure you use the present Gateway
setting, if one exists.
