User's Guide

MEA WMC6300 Windows User’s Guide
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Statically Provisioned Scheme
Operation under the Statically Provisioned scheme is similar to that of Release 2 in Peer-to-
Peer Mode. The primary difference is that addresses are configured by the network operator
rather than hashed from the MAC address. This serves to eliminate the 10.x.x.x limitation on the
network range.
When operating under the Statically Provisioned scheme, the network device will accept DHCP
requests from the user's host and internally generate responses to grant the host an IP address
and assign any other provisioned options.
This scheme requires that the host be configured to request an address from a DHCP server
but does not require a DHCP server on the core network.
It should be noted that a DHCP server can still exist on the network to hand out addresses to
other nodes using the Network DHCP Scheme as long as the server's address range does not
conflict with addresses assigned to devices using the Statically Provisioned or User Supplied
Schemes.
The granted IP addresses granted by the server and options are configurable per-device using
MeshManager. The internally generated DHCP messages will assign the host a static lease to
the provisioned address, which may be freely used to communicate while associated or
unassociated.
The operator must ensure that the provisioned addresses are routable and do not conflict with
any other addresses in use. The operator is free to provision any option ordinarily provisioned
by a DHCP server (subnet mask, DNS, etc.) through programming of the appropriate fields in
each device using MeshManager.
This scheme is ideal for a managed network of users who regularly need to communicate inside
and outside of network coverage or for a network lacking a DHCP server.
User Supplied Scheme
Operating under the User Supplied scheme, the user's host device is configured to use a fixed
IP address and subnet mask. The user is responsible for configuring options that would
otherwise be configured by a DHCP server.
It is also up to the user to ensure that the assigned address is routable on the core network (if
core network access is needed) and that it does not conflict with other addresses in use. This is
analogous to and carries the same caveats as plugging an Ethernet card into a LAN and
manually assigning an address to the card.
The user is free to communicate while associated or unassociated. This scheme is ideal for
small, unmanaged networks lacking a DHCP server.
All of these schemes may be assigned per device, either by the user or by the network
manager. The network manager can also limit the user-selectable schemes or force a specific
scheme. Devices in each of these schemes can interoperate and communicate with each other,
so long as the assigned addresses do not conflict and are mutually routable.
Setting the User Supplied IP Address
To setup the addressing for the User Supplied Scheme, first obtain a valid IP address from your
Network Administrator. This is the IP address to be entered in the IP Address box on the
Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties dialog General tab.