Porting static IP

bazster

OP, if these hundreds of connections to your customers are at all important then you have a bigger problem here than just not liking your ISP. Have you considered what might happen if your ISP goes bust? I once had the misfortune to be using an ISP that went belly-up, and BT summarily pulled the plug because they hadn't been paid by the ISP, so I couldn't even migrate. It then took several weeks to get set up again from scratch with a new ISP.

So, if these connections are important, you need two broadband connections, on two distinct 'phone lines, with two different ISP's. Of course, your customers' routers all need to be configured to recognise both of your IP addresses. So whatever way you look at it, you've got a pile of work on your hands to do it properly.

And until you do, you are flying on a wing and a prayer.

fwor

Notmyrealname wrote: »

But you'll only have a handful. And TBH this is a situation you've created for yourself

If you're a contractor, bought in to deal with a problem network (as I was) then you seldom have any choice but to work with someone else's ghastly bodge until you can roll out a better solution, and that often means working with the staff who implemented the bodge in the first place.

While I was in that position we stuck with the rule: "the customer never touches the network". At most we would occasionally get them to open the cabinet and check the power lights in case someone had turned off the rack (that happened more than once during my time there).

I'd agree with bazster - the OP should be looking at redundancy, and also at much stronger credentials than the calling IP address, if the current mechanism doesn't already have this.

robatwork

Gimp0r wrote: »

The way I understand it, you have lots of customers with presumably their own equipment that needs maintaining or whatever, You have one static IP in your office and you have configured all of the customers routers to allow your one IP access through the firewall and to remote admin the router, Its these routers that you need to reconfigure with the new IP. It has to be an IP and not a domain name as I doubt most routers would accept a domain name in the firewall rules and even if it did could be a security risk.

Is that about right or am I missing something?

Do you have SSH access to the routers or only through the remote admin web page?

As they are all likely to be different (if they are provided by the customers ISP or whatever rather than yourselves) then you couldn't even hope to script it. You could maybe make it a little easier to change them by creating a page of links like http://username : password@IP.IP.IP.IP:8080 and then at least you can just click the link and maybe get logged in automatically (if that even works these days)

I can't see any option other than doing it yourself manually.

Good luck

All correct. All remote admin. All different makes and models but all low end (netgear, dlink, draytek, bt, 2wire, linksys, zyxel, thomson.. sure I forgot a few). My clients are small businesses and shops. They could no more program their router or change a password than solve Fermat's last theorum.

As to Bazster's point about the ISP going bust - indeed that has occured to me, but the ISP in question has been swallowed up by the monolith that is talktalk. Whilst I am not exactly happy about that, it does provide some security - they are very unlikely to go under.

As it happens I already have redundancy - another, fibre, connection to the internet. Doesn't fix this issue however as if I end up with a new ISP and IP on that interface, and packets going out on that interface will still get rejected by our clients.

The "renting" an IP sounds promising so at least I would only need to change once, but it's a big kludge.

I haven't seen a decent explanation on why ISPs can't port IPs other than they won't or aren't allowed. What's the technical reason this can't be done?

thanks for all the replies

fwor

robatwork wrote: »

I haven't seen a decent explanation on why ISPs can't port IPs other than they won't or aren't allowed. What's the technical reason this can't be done?

Because they are typically assigned in subnets. You can't just take one IP address out of a subnet without going through a major process of redefining the ISP's core network routing rules.

Yes, it could be done, but they would probably have to create a whole new internal address management mechanism to do it, for no gain to themselves.

robatwork

fwor wrote: »

Yes, it could be done, but they would probably have to create a whole new internal address management mechanism to do it, for no gain to themselves.

The only people who would gain would be the customer who could keep their IP address "forever".

I guess a similar argument could apply to email addresses but fortunately I went with a forwarding service very early in my email life so have kept the same one through a few ISP changes.

I wonder if you would feel the same diffidence if your mobile phone company forced you to have a new number when you switched providers.

RobTang

Its a pretty niche desire really, I doubt most customers would actually see it as a benefit given they would have the pay for infrastructure that they would never want to use.
Beides this what the DNS system is for.

While I was never really good at networks I dont think its actually possible given the way tcpip routing is done. even if it was it would make a massive mess of the routing tables, would be hidoulsy slows beacuse the rouiting tables a a million times bigger etc etc.

It's more analogous to landline numbers, ie you cant keep it if you move to the other side of the country.

paddyrg

robatwork wrote: »

The only people who would gain would be the customer who could keep their IP address "forever".

I guess a similar argument could apply to email addresses but fortunately I went with a forwarding service very early in my email life so have kept the same one through a few ISP changes.

I wonder if you would feel the same diffidence if your mobile phone company forced you to have a new number when you switched providers.

I just don't think it was ever conceived that people would 'own' IP addresses forever, it is more akin to physical addresses. 23, xyz street, somevillage, anycity may be used as an address by an individual for many decades, if they move house, their address changes. Yes, RM offer a limited forwarding service, but it costs money as it takes mail out of the normal mail flow - it would be the same for IPv4 addresses.

I would reiterate the benefits of moving to IPv6 at the same time - we've run out of IPv4 addresses, the situation will only get worse. IPv6 addresses are so plentiful you could assign 1,000,000,000,000,000 IPv6 addresses to every single millilitre of water on the planet (should you so choose)

Off topic, what I think would be an AWESOME idea for the Royal Mail would be INDIVIDUAL postcodes - if you could pay a fee to have a postcode which would follow you for life I would be there in line. Imagine postal address portability! How cool! Much like you want with IPv4 addresses, I just suspect it won't happen anytime soon (or at least before everyone is using IPv6)

custardy

paddyrg wrote: »

Off topic, what I think would be an AWESOME idea for the Royal Mail would be INDIVIDUAL postcodes - if you could pay a fee to have a postcode which would follow you for life I would be there in line. Imagine postal address portability! How cool! Much like you want with IPv4 addresses, I just suspect it won't happen anytime soon (or at least before everyone is using IPv6)

postcodes are a practical piece of information for many reasons
not really practical to seperate them from a physical area

Darksun

paddyrg wrote: »

Off topic, what I think would be an AWESOME idea for the Royal Mail would be INDIVIDUAL postcodes - if you could pay a fee to have a postcode which would follow you for life I would be there in line. Imagine postal address portability! How cool! Much like you want with IPv4 addresses, I just suspect it won't happen anytime soon (or at least before everyone is using IPv6)

There are such postcodes, but they're only used by very large organisations, for example Lloyds TSB have BX1 1LT

custardy

Darksun wrote: »

There are such postcodes, but they're only used by very large organisations, for example Lloyds TSB have BX1 1LT

Yes but I don't see joe punter paying what they pay for those
The one you list is currently diverted to Edinburgh