--solved-- ; well , mostly ; was: my isp has trouble with its own dhcp assignment

22_nov_06_sun 25.55.utc



howdy , folks ---

well , as things turned_out , nobody got it right ;
   this includes yours_truly .



earlier today ,
   in anticipation of a call to "sales"		[ closed sundays ] ,
   regarding the acquisition of an ipv4_addr ,
   i called "tech_support"			[ open sundays ] ,
   to ask some basic questions regarding such a transition
   [ how long after placing the order does the addr become available
       [ "a few minutes" ] ;
     do the fixed_addr and the dhcp_addr "play well" together ,
       during the transition
       [ "not really , but , we know about this" ] ;
     you get the idea
   ] .
i decided to ask about this problem , as well ;
   after all , i had nothing to lose except some cell_phone minutes .

so , regarding the young_lady who assisted ,
   she probes the nic on the old gateway ,
   for its dhcp_addr and its mac_addr .
then , she has me swap the boxen and
   she probes the nic on the new gateway , similarly .
just like that , the new_gw works just_as_well_as the old_gw .



now , here is why i say "solved , mostly" .

she tells me that the problem is that i had a different mac_addr .
"it's a security thing" , says she .
"you need to call `tech_support' , when you change the mac_addr ."

"if i move the old_nic to the new_gw , when i swap the boxen ,
   then i have , still , the old mac_addr ;
   do i need to call , still ?" , he inquired , hope_fully .
"no , because , then , the mac_addr has not changed" ,
   she replied , re_assuringly .

this is all well_and_good ;
   --how_ever-- ,
   on 22_sep_25_sun [ 6 weeks ago ] ,
   with the new_gw in place [ new mac_addr and new dhcp_addr ] ,
   i tried this , for my intel 1000/100/10 nic :

	ifconfig em0 old_dhcp_addr add

immediately , the new_gw worked every_bit_as_well_as the old_gw .
thus , on sep_25 , i knew that my network and its config were "ok" .

my guess is that , when packets would arrive w/ the old_dhcp_addr ,
   the current_mac_addr was not verified against the old_mac_addr .
thus , those packets were passed .
per_haps , there exists a better explanation .

as yet , at the isp , i had not spoken to any_one about any_thing .
thus , i am not convinced that the young_lady's explanation was
   as well_stated as it might have been .
she may be explaining things as well as she understands them .



so , it appears that , over the next several weeks ,
   i will be talking to "sales" and "tech_support" .
i have wanted my own mail_server for a_while ;
   this means dns , as_well .
the fire_wall will require "interior" and "exterior" gateways .
we shall learn how_much we can accomplish .



--today-- , that which is important is that i have a second working gw ,
   in the event of the failure of the existing gw
   [ although , i may have to make a phone_call to "tech_support" ] ;
   now , i can get on w/ the building of the third gw .

	>---->  crisis averted  <----<



never_the_less , i --do-- have a question .

	is there some kind of security issue w/ nic mac_addresses ?

i have been trying to imagine one .
if so , then i suspect that
   it relates to activities , which i do not do .
this would explain my lack of imagination .
i do not do lap_tops [ hardware configuration is nearly impossible ] ;
   i do not do wi_fi [ eavesdropping ] ;
   i do not do windows [ now , really ; do you have to ask why ? ] .
please note that
   i am not against these things , for those who wish them ;
   different peoples have different ways .
i have programmed ms_dos ; i have used ms_win ;
   i have considered lt/wf ; these are not for me .
make mine a dozen of a several_hundred_char_wide xterm .



here is another one .

	regard_less of the answer to the above question ,
	  do other isps do this [ check the mac_addr ] ?



for now , i am treating the original problem as being , both ,
   partially_solved and partially_obviated ;
   this is subject to revision , after my isp discussions .
i wanted to let folks know that there has been --some-- progress .



again , i thank every_one who responded to the original topic .
my best to all of you and to all of yours .



tia		[ for the new questions ]

rob