1.2. Comparing Static to Dynamic IP Addressing

When a device is assigned a static IP address, the address does not change over time unless changed manually. It is recommended to use static IP addressing if you want:

All the configuration tools listed in Section 3.1, “Selecting Network Configuration Methods” allow assigning static IP addresses manually. The nmcli tool is also suitable, described in Section 3.3.8, “Adding and Configuring a Static Ethernet Connection with nmcli” .

For more information on automated configuration and management, see the OpenLMI chapter in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 System Administrators Guide. The Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Installation Guide documents the use of a Kickstart file which can also be used for automating the assignment of network settings.

When a device is assigned a dynamic IP address, the address changes over time. For this reason, it is recommended for devices that connect to the network occasionally because IP address might be changed after rebooting the machine.

Dynamic IP addresses are more flexible, easier to set up and administer. The dynamic host control protocol (DHCP) is a traditional method of dynamically assigning network configurations to hosts. See Section 14.1, “Why Use DHCP?” for more information. You can also use the nmcli tool, described in Section 3.3.7, “Adding and Configuring a Dynamic Ethernet Connection with nmcli” .

By default, NetworkManager calls the DHCP client, dhclient.