[bmartlaro]

I have been debating about setting up either SSH or static DHCP for my home network, I am just curious, would I be able to access the internet with either of these?

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Hi bmartlaro, and welcome to Geeks to Go!

Let me explain some basic concepts to you so you understand what Static DHCP and SSH are.

Every device on your home network (printer, XBOX, laptop, etc) has a unique address assigned to it called an IP address. With this unique address, your router can send that device the information it asks for - you wouldn't want to try to open geekstogo.com on your laptop but have it open on your XBOX, right? This address gets assigned to the device using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol - DHCP. Each time a device connects to the network, it asks the router for a unique address and the router gives it one (usually between 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.1.255). With Static DHCP, you tell your router what address you want to give the device, so each time a specific device asks for an address, it gets the same one every time. This can be useful for a printer, for example, to share the printer with other devices using that IP address.

Secure Shell, or SSH, is basically a way to create a secure tunnel of information from one device to another. One device asks for information and the other gives it - we call this the client-server model. It is usually used for remotely accessing servers or routers to execute commands, but overall the uses of SSH are very technical and usually not used in a home network.

In the case of DHCP, as long as the static DHCP is set up on the router, it should not restrict access to the internet, since there is still a link between the device and the router (which then is connected to the internet). In the case of SSH, it also wouldn't affect your connection to the internet, because SSH connections are temporary, and often require the internet to access a device not on your home network. But even if you unplugged the internet from your router, you would still be able to use SSH within your home network.

So, I guess the short answer to your question - "would I be able to access the internet with either of these?" - I would answer yes. But it begs the followup question - "what are you planning to do with static DHCP and SSH? Is there an easier solution?"

[The Admiral]

Hi bmartlaro, and welcome to Geeks to Go!

Let me explain some basic concepts to you so you understand what Static DHCP and SSH are.

Every device on your home network (printer, XBOX, laptop, etc) has a unique address assigned to it called an IP address. With this unique address, your router can send that device the information it asks for - you wouldn't want to try to open geekstogo.com on your laptop but have it open on your XBOX, right? This address gets assigned to the device using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol - DHCP. Each time a device connects to the network, it asks the router for a unique address and the router gives it one (usually between 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.1.255). With Static DHCP, you tell your router what address you want to give the device, so each time a specific device asks for an address, it gets the same one every time. This can be useful for a printer, for example, to share the printer with other devices using that IP address.

Secure Shell, or SSH, is basically a way to create a secure tunnel of information from one device to another. One device asks for information and the other gives it - we call this the client-server model. It is usually used for remotely accessing servers or routers to execute commands, but overall the uses of SSH are very technical and usually not used in a home network.

In the case of DHCP, as long as the static DHCP is set up on the router, it should not restrict access to the internet, since there is still a link between the device and the router (which then is connected to the internet). In the case of SSH, it also wouldn't affect your connection to the internet, because SSH connections are temporary, and often require the internet to access a device not on your home network. But even if you unplugged the internet from your router, you would still be able to use SSH within your home network.

So, I guess the short answer to your question - "would I be able to access the internet with either of these?" - I would answer yes. But it begs the followup question - "what are you planning to do with static DHCP and SSH? Is there an easier solution?"

[Digerati]

I am not very familiar with SSH but I don't think it is an "or" situation. You must assign IP addresses to your networked devices. I don't believe that is not done through SSH. SSH uses the IP address, but the router must assign them first.

There really is no such thing as "Static DHCP" - that is more or less a layman's term used for convenience. You have static (fixed or manually assigned) IPs, or you have dynamic (automatically assigned) IPs from a pool of reserved IP addresses, via DHCP by the router.

When you use "static DHCP", that just means you are using the DHCP menu to manually assign IP addresses. You can use both methods.

For example, I have 9 computers on my home network. I let my router dynamically assign IPs to my computers. But for my networked printer I assign the printer a static IP address so I don't have to keep reconfiguring the printer ports on each of my computers whenever the printer gets a new IP (say, after a power outage - I live in Tornado Ally and I don't put printers on a UPS).

So to answer your question, sure. You will be able to access the Internet with either DHCP and/or static IP assignments. How you configure your router (and local firewalls) to work with SSH is a different issue. However, entering "ssh through dhcp" (without the "") in your favorite search engine will help with that.

[bmartlaro]

Thank you for your reply, it answered a few questions that I had.