Assign Static IP address to Amazon Echo??

[dss_cottage]

I have a Hitron CODA 4582 modem and am having trouble with autconfiguration DHCP assignments. (About once or twice a week the Hitron will not assign a proper IP address to it's clients. Instead it assigns a 169.x.x.x address. A modem reset temporarily resolves the issue.) I have beat this issue to death with Rogers (my ISP) and they claim that they are not aware of anyone else having this problem. (VERY long story!) Therefore, I have given up and decided to assign static IP addresses to all my LAN clients. That circumvents the problem.

However, I have two clients that do not have the capability of being assigned a static IP address (Amazon Echo and Logitech Hub). I read in other locations that a router can be used to set up a static IP address using the client MAC address. I have searched the net and read the Hitron manual and can't find instructions to accomplish this task.

Can someone point me in the right direction?

 

[ColinTaylor]

Just FYI.

DHCP servers (the Hitron in your case) don't give out 169.254.x.x addresses. The client device will give itself one of these addresses if it doesn't get a response from a DHCP server.

Your second question about using the client's MAC address is not called a "static" address (although it is sometimes incorrectly called that), it is a DHCP reservation. For this to work the client device needs to be able to communicate normally with the DHCP server.

The fact that your devices are getting 169.254.x.x addresses suggests that they are either not connected to your network or the DHCP server on the Hitron is not working (or your network is otherwise misconfigured in a way that is not apparent from your post).

 

[degrub]

Are those the only two devices connecting wirelessly that are having issues maintaining a local IP address ?
If so connect them with an ethernet cable and see if the behavior changes.

Otherwise, you may 1) have Rogers replace the Hitron, 2) have to get another router to serve as a DHCP server and put the Hitron in bridge mode or turn off the DHCP server in the Hitron if possible

 

[dss_cottage]

Thank you for the responses.

Sorry for the long post but I don't want to waste anyone's time because I don't provide enough information.

First, I have multiple wired and WiFi clients on my network. I have assigned static IP addresses to all wired and WiFi clients other than the Echo and Hub). These static assigned clients work perfectly.

I have been working on this issue for a very long time and didn't want to bog down this post with all the details. However, here a couple of my trouble shooting steps that relate to your responses:

- To isolate the problem, I connected a separate router to the Hitron and assigned it a static IP (It's a client of the Hitron - not bridged.). I moved wired and WiFi devices to this router and the autoconfiguration DHCP worked perfectly on that separate router. Therefore, I deduced that there was no problem with my LAN clients and that the problem is related to the Hitron.
- After this step, I had the Hitron replaced but the problem persisted.
- Next, my ISP downloaded new firmware to the Hitron. The problem still persists.
- Now my ISP tells me that I am the only one with this problem. (I don't believe them but it's like talking to a brick wall.)​

I can't direct wire either the Amazon Echo or the Logitech Hub because they don't have Ethernet jacks. I also can't assign a static IP address because their software doesn't have that capability.

As suggested, I could use the separate router as my DHCP server but I have another use for the router and would rather not buy another one if I can find how to assign a static IP address (DHCP reservation) to the Echo and Hub.

...Which leads me to another question....
ColinTaylor indicates that for DHCP reservation to work, the client device needs to be able to communicate normally with the DHCP server. Please correct me if I'm wrong but I thought that the client device needs to be able to communicate normally with the DHCP server even for a static IP address assignment. That's why I thought that it was the autoconfiguration process that wasn't working since the static IP assignments are working. I also believe that the Echo and Hub communicate normally with the DHCP since they do get autoconfig IP addresses. It's just that I get random failures. (169.254.x.x)

If my assumptions are correct, then I need to be pointed in the right direction to make a DHCP reservation.

 

[coxhaus]

A static IP address is just hard coding in an IP address, mask, and gateway on to the client device. The IP address can be any IP. Usually it will be set outside the scope of a DHCP server pool. But it does not have to. A good DHCP server will not dual assign an IP address because an IP address is already in use.

A DHCP reservation is using a DHCP server to reserve an IP address for a MAC address. The IP address needs to be within the DHCP's scope of IP addresses set up on the DHCP server.

When you get 169.254.x.x IP address that means you are not connecting to your DHCP server when using Microsoft Windows software client. The client is issuing a request for a DHCP address but it is not sent or not returned from the DHCP server.

Something which might help is to raise your renew time on your leases on the router to a month or more. This will also cut down on the number of "DHCP renews" being sent out by your router.

PS
My wife has an Echo and I can not get it to tell me what it's IP address. It seems such a simple thing.

 

[ColinTaylor]

I think we might just be getting confused over terminology.

ColinTaylor indicates that for DHCP reservation to work, the client device needs to be able to communicate normally with the DHCP server. Please correct me if I'm wrong but I thought that the client device needs to be able to communicate normally with the DHCP server even for a static IP address assignment.

A "static" address in one that you manually set by logging onto the client and typing in the values associated with its network interface (IP address, netmask, gateway address, DNS server addresses). By manually defining these parameters the client device does not communicate with the DHCP server at all (and is therefore not reliant on it).

[Note that because "static" clients don't communicate with the DHCP server the DHCP server is not aware of their presence on the network. For this reason it is important that any statically assigned IP addresses are outside the scope of the DHCP pool. Otherwise it's possible that the DHCP server might assign an IP address to another client that you have already set manually on one of your devices.]

That's why I thought that it was the autoconfiguration process that wasn't working since the static IP assignments are working. I also believe that the Echo and Hub communicate normally with the DHCP since they do get autoconfig IP addresses. It's just that I get random failures. (169.254.x.x)

This is a confusing statement. What do you mean by "static IP assignments" and "autoconfig IP addresses"?

 

[degrub]

It may be a sleep issue with the device or possibly a weak or intermittent (interference) wireless signal from/to the Hitron. Have you done a wireless survey to see which channel has the least use ?

The Hitron does not appear to support assigning IP addresses based on MAC address. You would need a different DHCP server to do that. You could use a PI or similar if you are reasonably comfortable with linux.

 

[coxhaus]

Can you run the Hitron as a modem? If yes buy a router.

It sounds like the Hitron does a poor job as a DHCP server.

Are you sure you have not assigned static IPs in the same range as the Hitron DHCP server? It may not be able to cope with it.

 

[dss_cottage]

I think we might just be getting confused over terminology.

A "static" address in one that you manually set by logging onto the client and typing in the values associated with its network interface (IP address, netmask, gateway address, DNS server addresses). By manually defining these parameters the client device does not communicate with the DHCP server at all (and is therefore not reliant on it).

[Note that because "static" clients don't communicate with the DHCP server the DHCP server is not aware of their presence on the network. For this reason it is important that any statically assigned IP addresses are outside the scope of the DHCP pool. Otherwise it's possible that the DHCP server might assign an IP address to another client that you have already set manually on one of your devices.]

This is a confusing statement. What do you mean by "static IP assignments" and "autoconfig IP addresses"?

Sorry for the confusion. I'm far from an expert in this area. I have just enough knowledge to get myself in trouble.

Here's what I mean....
Any client for which I have assigned a static IP address works perfectly. i.e. It never gets a failure because of a 169.254.x.x address. By "autoconfig IP addresses", I mean clients that do not have a static IP address assigned and therefore rely on the DHCP for their assignment. It is these clients which occasionally fail because they get a 169-254.x.x assignment.

...and thank you for for the explanation of the DHCP/static IP assignment process. It was very clear and helps me to better understand the process.

 

[dss_cottage]

Can you run the Hitron as a modem? If yes buy a router.

It sounds like the Hitron does a poor job as a DHCP server.

Are you sure you have not assigned static IPs in the same range as the Hitron DHCP server? It may not be able to cope with it.

Yes. I can run the Hitron as a modem. If a DHCP reservation will encounter the same problem as allowing the DHCP to assign IP addresses, it looks like that's what I'll have to do.

I do have the static IP assignments outside the range available to the DHCP.

 

[dss_cottage]

It may be a sleep issue with the device or possibly a weak or intermittent (interference) wireless signal from/to the Hitron. Have you done a wireless survey to see which channel has the least use ?

The Hitron does not appear to support assigning IP addresses based on MAC address. You would need a different DHCP server to do that. You could use a PI or similar if you are reasonably comfortable with linux.

I may be getting out of my depth here too. (I'm not fully knowledgeable about a wireless site survey). However, given the little that I do know, her are my thoughts...

• I have a number of LAN clients hardwired and they occasionally got a 169.254.x.x assignment. Because of this, I deduced that the problem was not due to a poor wireless signal or interference. I also have a WiFi signal analyser. I'm getting a good strong signal everywhere.
• As part of my trouble shooting, I increased the DHCP Lease Time to "forever". This didn't help. Therefore, I deduced that a sleeping client wouldn't have caused a problem. I didn't really think that this would have been an issue since I didn't think a sleeping device would request a lease renewal until it woke.

 

[dss_cottage]

PS
My wife has an Echo and I can not get it to tell me what it's IP address. It seems such a simple thing.

I found my Amazon Echo IP address by getting it's MAC address from the Amazon Echo settings, then looking at the connected devices on the Router to find the IP address associated with that MAC address.

 

[coxhaus]

If you have a Microsoft Windows PC and you end up with a 169.254.x.x IP address it is due to lack of communication with the DHCP server. If the DHCP least time is forever I am not sure why the PC is dropping the IP address very quickly. There should be very little communication with the DHCP server.

Have you tried a different CAT5e wire?

 

[coxhaus]

I found my Amazon Echo IP address by getting it's MAC address from the Amazon Echo settings, then looking at the connected devices on the Router to find the IP address associated with that MAC address.

Yes that is the way I did it. It would be so much nicer if the Echo could tell you it's IP address.

 

[degrub]

If your lan clients were occasionally not able to talk with the dhcp server in the hitron, then you need to get a different router and be done with it.

 

[dss_cottage]

If you have a Microsoft Windows PC and you end up with a 169.254.x.x IP address it is due to lack of communication with the DHCP server. If the DHCP least time is forever I am not sure why the PC is dropping the IP address very quickly. There should be very little communication with the DHCP server.

Have you tried a different CAT5e wire?

I haven't posted the entire length of the chronology of my problem solving so as not to bore everyone.

Both my PCs are direct wired with Cat5e cables. They were using the auto-configuration process of the DHCP and occasionally getting a 169.254.x.x IP address. After I assigned them static IP address, they work perfectly.

Because, there are a couple of clients that I would rather not have assigned a static IP address, I subsequently changed the DHCP lease time to forever in the hope that it would resolve the issue.

 

[dss_cottage]

If your lan clients were occasionally not able to talk with the dhcp server in the hitron, then you need to get a different router and be done with it.

Yes. It seems that is my only option.

 

[coxhaus]

You might try a different CAT5e cable to make sure it is not a physical problem. You hate to buy a new router and end up with the same problem because it was a wire or something.

If it always works with a static then disregard the above.

 

[dss_cottage]

Final resolution....
I bit the bullet and purchased a separate router. Now all clients are either assigned a static IP address or connect to the new separate router.

Everything is working well but I'm a little "ticked" at my ISP (Rogers) that has caused me to spend money on a router.

Thank you to everyone who took the time and effort to make suggestions and to add to my education.