With a MAC-DHCP binding at the router, do I configure the client as static?

Question

I'm working on setting up a home web/file server together with a new-to-me Cisco router. This router does not support setting ip addresses on the interfaces, because of some peculiarities (its a switch and a router). The result is most help focuses on dhcp, but I want to configure the server with a static IP. Then I discovered binding.

Now I have what I wanted, a permanent inside IP for the server. But, now I question how to setup the server--continue with DHCP for its address and DNS servers, or should I setup this CentOS server's network settings /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0 and /etc/resolv.conf using static settings? And what about DNS?

Answer 1

I don't have any particular familiarity with Cisco hardware, but if your router supports static binding (Static DHCP, fixed-address, IP reservation, whatever it happens to be called), you don't need to set a static IP on the server. Just configure it for DHCP as you normally would. The router will always assign the same IP as long as your MAC address doesn't change.

Answer 2

You don't have to, but you should. It's good practice for the cases where forget you have a specific binding on that port and you decided to unplug that port and move whatever was plugged in there to a different port.

Generally speaking, if you're using a switch instead of a router, you should build the DHCP/DNS/NTP/etc... on a box that specifically services these things if you don't plan on getting a cheap router to manage it for you.