Dynamic IP acting like a Static IP

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Dynamic IP acting like a Static IP

jaybiz3

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#154012 15-Oct-2014 12:52

Around March 2013 I noticed the modem's IP address wouldn't change even after resetting it several times, but Telecom said it isn't a Static IP. Last month I called Telecom about the 'Static IP' but they still say it's not a Static IP.

We get a least two power cuts per year and I've resat the modem several time throughout and the 'Dynamic IP' is still the same as it was in March 2013.

How can a Dynamic IP act like a Static IP? (Note: before March whenever the modem resat, the IP did change).

sbiddle

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#1154399 15-Oct-2014 13:04

It's called a sticky DHCP lease, and yes it works this way on a number of ISPs

BlakJak

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#1154410 15-Oct-2014 13:22

Technically it's not necessarily 'DHCP' but the fundamentals are the same.

The network remembers where the IP was, and to what MAC address (or equivalent) it was allocated, and will hold it in limbo for a period of time in order to re-allocate it. This means less network topology changes need to be made/propogated. OTOH if the IP is not in use and the pool is depleted, addresses 'in limbo' will be issued - likely in an order that pertains to how recently they were released. It's efficient.

If someone else is dynamically allocated the IP then you'll get a different one. If that hasn't happened, then you're very likely to get the same one each time.

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xpd

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#1154414 15-Oct-2014 13:35

What they said.

Does this mean you can run a game server (in theory) and give your mates the one IP for them to connect to each time ?
Yup... until it gets released and someone else ends up with it. But as you noticed, this could be a long time :)

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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BlakJak

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#1154415 15-Oct-2014 13:40

Some ISP's ive worked within the past have a 'static-but-not-in-name' arrangement where your IP is pseudo-static... technically engineered as static but the right is reserved to change it for operational reasons.
The reality is that with always-on connections the overhead of assigning a static is tiny.

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Killerkiwi2005

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#1154416 15-Oct-2014 13:44

I've been using this service for a dynamic domain name
https://duckdns.org/

Seems to work well

jaybiz3

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#1154427 15-Oct-2014 14:02

K, thanks, I guess the question is why would they change it from Dynamic IP to 'sticky/MAC assigned/pseudo-static' IP.

Around the same time (Mar-2013) Telecom did maintenance on TIVO, and my first post on these forums was assuming this had changed it to a 'Static-IP', could it be this?

wongtop

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#1154464 15-Oct-2014 14:29

The cynic in me says it is to make things easier for them to trace which IP belonged to who and when, in order to make the issuing of copyright infringement notices, etc, when required.

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xpd

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#1154466 15-Oct-2014 14:34

Yes, but they could do that regardless of a static IP or not.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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eXDee

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#1154473 15-Oct-2014 14:37

wongtop: The cynic in me says it is to make things easier for them to trace which IP belonged to who and when, in order to make the issuing of copyright infringement notices, etc, when required.

Except this is completely irrelevant, and comes up often when this is discussed.

They have logs of at what times which user had what IP. Whenever a notice comes in, they correlate the timestamps with their logs. You could have an IP for a few minutes, get stung with a notice and it'll still make its way back to you.

The idea of static ips being so its easier for the ISP to track you is completely baseless and not even remotely necessary.

An external website on the other hand? Maybe, but they can't assume that its always the same person. Unless you're handing them a tracking cookie every time you visit and then well - you're handing them a tracking cookie, your IP quickly becomes irrelevant.

sbiddle

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#1154482 15-Oct-2014 14:44

jaybiz3: K, thanks, I guess the question is why would they change it from Dynamic IP to 'sticky/MAC assigned/pseudo-static' IP.

You're still on a dynamic IP. An IP address doesn't need to change every time you renew it - for example it doesn't change every time you connect your home PC to your network as you'll have a DHCP lease time set.

hashbrown

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#1155650 15-Oct-2014 19:47

wongtop: The cynic in me says it is to make things easier for them to trace which IP belonged to who and when, in order to make the issuing of copyright infringement notices, etc, when required.

It discourages bad behaviour. If your IP gets banned from a service, that's your problem, not the next person to get your IP's problem.

cbrpilot

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Spark NZ

#1155668 15-Oct-2014 20:38

jaybiz3: K, thanks, I guess the question is why would they change it from Dynamic IP to 'sticky/MAC assigned/pseudo-static' IP.

Around the same time (Mar-2013) Telecom did maintenance on TIVO, and my first post on these forums was assuming this had changed it to a 'Static-IP', could it be this?

We would have migrated you off our old network which used very dynamic IP, to our newer network that has stickier IP (to use the term others have used).

All this will be changing though. We're currently rolling through changes that will get rid of those sticky IP addresses for true dynamic again. We introduced the sticky IP addresses back in 2010 when we rolled out a new network for a product that we decided not to launch.

My views are my own, and may not necessarily represent those of my employer.

shermanp

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#1155716 15-Oct-2014 21:40

cbrpilot:
All this will be changing though. We're currently rolling through changes that will get rid of those sticky IP addresses for true dynamic again. We introduced the sticky IP addresses back in 2010 when we rolled out a new network for a product that we decided not to launch.

Awww. I like having a sticky IP, it's rather handy...

Ah well, never mind.

cbrpilot

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Spark NZ

#1155744 15-Oct-2014 22:45

For those still on sticky IP that are quite fond of them, then please get a Static IP. Static IP are truly static and we will never change the IP on you. With your current IP we can and will change your IP without warning where we need to.

Static IP are free on many of our plans. They are not available on the unlimited plan.

To get one, go to spark.co.nz/staticip

As I have said, sticky IP addresses are being progressively removed from our network. If you are lucky you may keep your sticky IP until early next year. If you're unlucky you could lose it tomorrow night.

My views are my own, and may not necessarily represent those of my employer.

leaplae

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#1157575 18-Oct-2014 18:31

I would sign up for a static, but they are not available on unlimited for some reason.