Jerry wrote regarding 'Re: [SLE] Subnet 169.254.0.0' on Thu, Aug 19 at 09:40:
On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 08:48:25 -0500 Danny Sauer
wrote: 169.254.0.0/255.255.0.0 is the netblock used by autoconfigured DHCP machines. If you've ever taken a windows box and turned it on without a DHCP server anywhere, it will autoconfigure itself to use an address from that range. It'll then send out a broadcast to see fi anyone else replies on that address, and pick another from that range if the one it chose was taken. And so on. That way, you could have a hub, some wires, and no knowledge of how to configure a network, but still get a couple of home machines to talk to each other. Most DHCP clients now will use that so they can interoperate nicely.
Yes, but I don't understand why it is configured on 9.1, even when I have used only a static address.
Say you've got a windows machine at home, too, and that you haven't set up a DHCP server. You just went out, bought a network card, and plugged it into your windows machine. Then you hooked both of your machines up to a hub. Now your windows machine will assign itself an address in that range by itself, without you having to do anythign else. If that address is configured on the SuSE box, then the two computers will be able to see each other with no other configuration. It doesn't hurt anything, and it possibly makes it easier to interoperate with the windows box. I'm guessing that's why it was done. Or maybe you're running the dhcpd client for some reason, even with the static IP? Then again, I'm just guessing at this point. My 9.1 boxes all use DHCP, so I don't see that here. :) --Danny