DHCP assigned unregistered IP address

[Bob Hall]

On Fri, Jul 15, 2005 at 11:38:07AM +0100, Alex Zbyslaw wrote:
> Bob Hall wrote:
> 
> >The modem web page contained this:
> >	The SURFboard cable modem can be used as a gateway to the
> >	Internet by a maximum of 32 users on a Local Area Network (LAN).
> >	When the Cable Modem is disconnected from the Internet, users on
> >	the LAN can be dynamically assigned IP Addresses by the Cable
> > 
> >
> On the SB4100, the "Enable DHCP" checkbox is right above this blurb.

Yes, I've seen screen shots with it. The SB5100 has no checkbox.
 
> However, note the "When the Cable Modem is disconnected from the 
> Internet..." so the only reason it should be handing you the local IP is 
> if it cannot talk back to the DHCP server it gets your real IP from.  If 

Yea, that's pretty obvious. It's also pretty undesirable. Apparently,
Motorola decided the checkbox was confusing and removed it, replacing it
with this automatic behavior. Blea.

> it happens again, you might want to talk to your provider to find out 
> *why*.  Does this thing have any flashing lights on the front?

There are LEDs, but they didn't indicate anything was wrong. There have
been many reboots over the time I've been with this ISP, and this is the
only time this happened. I'm not going to demand an explanation for a
fluke. A better question is why the tech I talked to told me that the
unregistered IP address wasn't a problem. But she did tell me that she
was new, and generally the techs can distinguish between their cloacal
anatomy and a geophysical excavation.