Hi,

My impression is that usually on networks, LAN >> Bind IP to MAC is set to ENABLE or even STRICT so that it is easy to control access of particular devices used by people.

I want to just ask about using LAN >> Bind IP to MAC DISABLE on a home system.
I am thinking about making the admin friendly to Mum and Dad in a large family setting, and also making things like simply adding a new device as easy as signing on with the Wifi Password. The 'admin stuff' could be done later.

For me, one of the best parts about Binding being enabled is that you can clearly label MAC addresses with details so that you can quickly see who's connected.
This is made harder if you DISABLE binding because you have to refer to a MAC TO USER/DEVICE LIST.

So, am I missing something here and there's another way - maybe like looking at the DHCP table wgich shows recent users. Any ideas please?

Hello Thela,
For ease of use/admin, I don't think there's a problem with disabling Bind IP to MAC in the situation you are describing.
I use ENABLE as I found STRICT a bit of a nuisance when I was changing a lot of kit around.
An advantage of using ENABLE would be that if you had, say, a few devices that you ALWAYS expect to be on the network, you will quickly see "unexpected" devices in the DHCP table as they won't show as having "FIXED IP" addresses, you'll see their lease time instead, so you can investigate what those devices are.
To expand slightly, in my situation, I have laptops, phones, tablets and PCs, so ALL of these are set up in the Bind IP to MAC table. Anyone "visiting" will be able to get on the network with a password and I can see how many "visiting devices" are on my network very quickly. I will add that I have my DHCP lease time turned down quite low (10800s = 360m = 6hrs)
Regards telling what's what WITHOUT the binding, you'll find this varies according to the particular device type (eg. Windows, Mac, Linux etc.) Windows type devices, and things offering Windows type sharing facilites (eg. some NAS devices) show up quite well, (as do iPhones & Androids) but some don't.
The best bet to get a head start on those devices you can't identify is to look at the first 3 octets of the MAC address (eg: 00-1D-AA) and then do an internet search for "mac address lookup". You'll find some useful sites, and if you entered the values I just mentioned in there (00-1D-AA) you'd find out that belongs to Draytek. You need to be aware that it won't always be that specific because many manufacturers use common components (particularly NICs !) but it might give you a bit of a clue about the devices.

I would add that I use a hosts file at home which contains IP addresses, host names and MAC addresses as comments, but I don't get out much :lol:
Very best of luck with whatever you decided to do, just be VERY careful if you decided to go the STRICT route !
Simon

sjltech.uk wrote: Hello Thela,
For ease of use/admin, I don't think there's a problem with disabling Bind IP to MAC in the situation you are describing.
I use ENABLE as I found STRICT a bit of a nuisance when I was changing a lot of kit around.
An advantage of using ENABLE would b.......................
.......................identify is to look at the first 3 octets of the MAC address (eg: 00-1D-AA) and then do an internet search for "mac address lookup". You'll find some useful sites, and if you entered the values I just mentioned in there (00-1D-AA) you'd find out that belongs to Draytek. You need to be aware that it won't always be that specific because many manufacturers use common components (particularly NICs !) but it might give you a bit of a clue about the devices.

I would add that I use a hosts file at home which contains IP addresses, host names and MAC addresses as comments, but I don't get out much :lol:
Very best of luck with whatever you decided to do, just be VERY careful if you decided to go the STRICT route !
Simon

Thank you Simon,

That was very clear and helpful.
It was 'interesting' that I also had come to the same conclusion about 'enable or strict' binding and also setting the known equipment with a high IP number so that new devices appear 'first and low on the list'.

FWIW I use a simple app on my iPad to show what wifi info belongs to the IP - e.g. Apple, Amazon etc.. this enables me to ascertain whether its something I know about already, and if not what 'guest of the kids' is using it.

I thought your info about the lease time was interesting. I hadn't looked at this area, and I will do some more reading as mine are just running using the default settings. However, the information about the first 3 octets and mac address lookup search was very interesting, I had not heard of that before. Thanks.

I will also read up on the Hosts file, which I last used in earnest many years ago.

Anyway, thank you for your help.

Theia