Am I able to assign the static IP address that my ISP provides me directly to my router?
My ISP are telling me that I have to assign the IP to a server inside the network instead, and cannot assign it directly to the router.
Can anyone clarify this?
13 Answers
Well, if the router is providing NAT services to a bunch of machines on a LAN you would need to assign your public address to it, but it really depends on your setup so what have you got (router make, machines etc.)
As far as the ISP is concerned, any NIC with a MAC address is the same as any other. This means that the WAN interface on your router will appear the same to an ISP as will a NIC on a computer (except that if the ISP really cares to check, they can see who manufactured the NIC by analyzing the MAC address, so you can tell if it is a router or a computer NIC). There is no difference in how either operate on a network. The only reason they might say that is because their terms of service may limit you to one computer per connection.
The Fixed IP address your ISP provides has to be assigned to the external nic of you DSL/Router.
If you assign it to a computer inside your local network, its not going to work.
In my experience, the fixed ip are also DHCP distributed. I mean, the ISP creates a reservation for your router with the static IP, so everytime you turn on your router, it gets the fixed ip.
for assigning the external ip to a computer, just add the computer to the router DMZ
2
