beautypg.com

Dynamic vs. static ip addresses – Sierra Wireless RAVEN 1X 20070914 User Manual

Page 21

background image

Introduction to the Raven

Rev 3.0B Feb.08

16

Figure 1-8: Connecting to the Internet

The Raven will perform a one‐to‐one routing for all internet 
traffic to and from the computer or other end device. One‐to‐
one means that your Raven will provide a connection for one 
device to the Internet at a time. In Private Mode, the Raven will 
provide NAT (Network Address Translation) for the computer 
or other end device.

Note: The Raven does not provide advanced routing required by one-
to-many (several devices connected to one port). If you need to have
more than one device connected to the Internet through your Raven,
you will need to have a router connected to the modem. The modem
would provide the one-to-one connection to the router with the router
configured to provide a broader NAT service to the other devices
connected to it.

Dynamic vs. Static IP Addresses

There are two types of addresses on networks: dynamic and 
static.

Dynamic addresses are assigned on a “need to have” basis. 
Your Raven might not always receive the same address 
each time it connects with Sprint.

Static addresses are permanently assigned to a particular 
account and will always be used whenever your Raven 
connects to the Internet. The IP address will not be given 
to anyone else. 

Most ISPs (cellular included) use dynamic IP addresses rather 
than static IP addresses since it allows them to reuse a smaller 
number of IP addresses for a large number of customers. A 
dynamic IP address is suitable for many common Internet 
uses, such as web browsing, looking up data on another 
computer system, or other client functions (such as data only 
being sent out or only being received after an initial request).

Tip: If your account with Sprint includes a dynamic IP address and
you need a static IP, please consult your Sprint Representative for
more information about changing your account for static IP support.

If you need to contact your Raven, a device connected to the 
Raven, or a host system using the Raven from the Internet, you 
need to have a known IP (such as one which is static) or 
domain name (an IP address which is converted by a DNS 
server into a word based name). If you have a dynamic IP