IP Range - does it matter?

[bizzel]

I'm playing with Windows Server 2003 R2 in a virtual machine and one of the first things I need to configure for the DHCP role is an address range. I'm using a virtual internal network so I'm not worried about conflicts with anything but...what should I choose for a range and subnet mask?

I'm more of a programmer so subnet masks are lost on me - what's a good value?

Cheers.

[FN-GM]

Use this to help - Online IP Subnet Calculator

You pick the subnet mask depending on how many addresses you would like. As long as your IP range is in the private range you can use just about anything.

[powdarrmonkey]

It doesn't really matter, apart from the fact that it must be one of the three RFC1918 private ranges: 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, and 192.168.0.0/16. I'd use 192.168, but make the mask a /24 (255.255.255.0) which you'll find is the Windows default anyway, then create a subnet by changing the third octet of the network: 192.168.x.0 so that you avoid colliding with your own network.

http://www.troutman.org/tech/linux_guides/subnet.html, taken with a pinch of salt now that CIDR is much more common that just simple subnetting.

[Jamman960]

If its not going to connect to the internet you can use any network addres you want and any subnet mask you want, the only time it could affect you is if you later connected it to the internet and tried to connect to a host with an IP within the subnet you've chosen.

It is however good practice to stick with the designated private ranges.

[bio]

IF you are going to create a lab with a DHCP role and you are using VMware Workstation you should make sure to disable the VMware DHCP Server before proceding. This can be done in Manage Virtual Networks. Should save you some frustrations

bio..

[onehundredwatt]

One thing to take into account is VPN routing. e.g if you have a 192.168.10.0/24 you won't be able to VPN to another network with the same subnet. This can be an issue for remote users using VPN's.