Allied Telesis AT-S70 - Manual (Page 34)

Chapter 4: Basic Parameters
34
When Does a Converteon™ Chassis Need an IP Address?
One of the tasks to building or expanding a network is deciding which of
the managed chassis need a unique IP address. In the past, the rule was
that a managed chassis needed an IP address if you wanted to manage it
remotely, such as with the Telnet application protocol or a web browser.
However, if a network contained a lot of managed chassis, having to
assign each one an IP address was often cumbersome and time
consuming. It was also often difficult keeping track of all the IP addresses.
When you assign a chassis an IP address, you must also assign it a
subnet mask. The chassis uses the subnet mask to determine which
portion of an IP address represents the network address and which the
node address. You must also assign the chassis a gateway address if the
chassis and a remote management workstation are separated by a router.
This gateway address is the IP address of the router through which the
chassis and remote management workstation will communicate.
If you do not plan to remotely manage any of the Converteon™ Series
chassis in your network, you do not need to assign any of them an IP
address. The chassis can operate without an IP address and you will still
be able to manage them completely using local management sessions.
Assigning an IP
Address
Once you have decided which, if any, chassis on your network need an IP
address, you have to access the AT-S70 software on the chassis and
assign the addresses. There are actually two ways in which a chassis can
obtain an IP address.
ˆ The first method is for you to assign the IP configuration information
manually This procedure is explained in “Configuring the IP Address,
Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway” on page 38.
ˆ The second method is for you to activate the DHCP service on the
chassis and have the chassis automatically download its IP
configuration information from a DHCP server on your network. This
procedure is explained in “Enabling and Disabling DHCP” on page 40.
Note
Initially assigning an IP address to a chassis or activating DHCP can
only be done through a local management session.